Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2015

Floor Speech

The Acting CHAIR. Pursuant to House Resolution 616, the gentleman from California and a Member opposed each will control 5 minutes.

The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California.

Mr. SCHIFF. Mr. Chairman, for decades, there has been a growing debate among marine biologists and other professionals over maintaining marine mammals in captivity, but it was last year's release of the documentary ``Blackfish'' that spurred a broader public discussion over whether the conditions in which marine mammals, particularly orcas, are held for public display are humane and whether these animals should even be held in captivity.

I have serious concerns about the psychological and physical harm to orcas and other large marine mammals in captivity. Isolating these animals--which can travel hundreds of miles in a day in the wild and which live in large, complex social groupings--in a small enclosure is troubling.

There is substantial evidence that orcas in captivity live much shorter lives than those in the wild and display high levels of stress and aberrant and sometimes dangerous behavior.

Two weeks ago, Representative Huffman and I, along with 38 of our colleagues, sent a letter to the Department of Agriculture, urging them to move forward with a rulemaking regarding conditions of captivity for marine mammals under the Animal Welfare Act.

Twenty years ago, the Department recognized the need to revise regulations. Ten years ago, the Department proposed such a rulemaking and received many public comments. Since then, progress has stalled, despite the public outcry about this issue.

Our amendment would serve to kick-start that effort by providing $1 million for the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service to study the effect of captivity on large marine mammals, so that USDA can follow through with proposing a rule that is long overdue.

Among the issues that would benefit from an unbiased examination by APHIS are the effects of captivity on the longevity of marine mammals, whether they suffer from physical and mental maladies at a higher rate than animals in the wild and whether they display unnatural and unhealthy behaviors indicating high levels of stress.

The finding of this study will inform the USDA's consideration of reopening a rulemaking process, which could result in scientifically-based regulations that ensure humane conditions for these awe-inspiring animals.

The amendment does not change existing rules and regulations. Instead, we are calling on the USDA to gather all scientific evidence and propose a rule that has been 20 years in the making. I urge adoption of the amendment.

At this point, I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. Huffman), who is a leader on this issue.

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