Sponsors (22)
Official title: To direct the Secretary of the Interior to establish a Wildlife Confiscations Network, and for other purposes.
Introduced May 21, 2025 by Andrew R. Garbarino · Last progress May 21, 2025
The bill centralizes and funds a national network to improve placement and care for seized wildlife and to reduce burdens on ports and enforcement, but it concentrates decisionmaking, imposes costs and administrative barriers on partner facilities, risks delays or uneven capacity in practice, and increases federal spending.
Law enforcement and port staff will no longer need to provide long-term care for seized live wildlife because a national Wildlife Confiscations Network provides placement and care coordination, freeing enforcement to focus on investigations and border operations.
Nonprofits, zoos, sanctuaries, aquaria, and specialized facilities will more often receive seized endangered or CITES-listed animals through vetted placements, improving animal welfare and quarantine/compliance outcomes.
Federal wildlife agencies and partner organizations gain a centralized Wildlife Confiscations Network and Committee (with a single vetted contact), which should speed transfers, reduce administrative friction, and clarify decision authority for seized endangered/CITES species.
Taxpayers/the federal budget will face increased spending of $25 million over five years to fund the program, which could require offsets or add to budgetary pressure.
Nonprofits, zoos, sanctuaries, and universities will incur new administrative, documentation, and compliance costs to qualify for the Network, which may strain smaller organizations.
Centralizing placement authority in a Committee and formal review processes could create bottlenecks or slow placements, delaying care and complicating enforcement responses during surges.
Based on analysis of 5 sections of legislative text.
Establishes a voluntary nationwide Wildlife Confiscations Network to vet care facilities, coordinate placements, set protocols, and support federal wildlife law enforcement.
Creates a voluntary, nationwide Wildlife Confiscations Network run by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in partnership with an accrediting zoological association to help federal wildlife law enforcement place and care for seized threatened, endangered, or CITES-listed animals. The Network will maintain a vetted list of qualified care facilities, create response protocols and a review Committee, and receive $5 million per year in authorized funding for fiscal years 2026–2030.