HB3456, titled the Captivity of Helpless Elephants Reduction Act of 2025 or the CHER Act of 2025, would amend the Animal Welfare Act to prohibit zoological parks and safari parks from exhibiting, housing, managing, or breeding African or Asian elephants after a one-year phase-in period. The bill’s stated purpose is to end elephant captivity in these facilities and require existing elephants to be transferred to authorized wildlife sanctuaries within three years of enactment.
The bill also defines what qualifies as an authorized wildlife sanctuary, limiting such facilities to nonprofit, accredited sanctuaries dedicated to lifelong elephant care that do not breed animals, use them for profit, or use them for public entertainment. It further directs the Secretary of Agriculture to conduct a feasibility study on transfers, consider a grant program to help sanctuaries accommodate elephants, and develop public education materials about the welfare benefits of the prohibition.
Impact
If enacted, the bill would create a new federal restriction under the Animal Welfare Act on the keeping of African and Asian elephants by zoos and safari parks, effectively phasing out elephant exhibits in those settings nationwide. It would also impose transfer obligations on current exhibitors, shift long-term care to accredited sanctuaries, and potentially require USDA implementation through rulemaking, oversight, and support programs. The bill would affect zoological parks, safari parks, elephant exhibitors, and wildlife sanctuaries, while adding new statutory definitions and enforcement responsibilities to federal animal welfare law.
Sentiment
Based on the bill text and the absence of recorded committee debate or votes, the measure appears to be framed as an animal-welfare and conservation proposal with a strongly protective stance toward elephants. The findings emphasize elephant intelligence, social structure, and the harms of captivity, suggesting the bill is intended to appeal to supporters of animal rights and sanctuary-based care. Because there are no transcripts or votes available, there is no documented legislative opposition or support in the provided materials beyond the bill’s own policy rationale.
Contention
The main points of contention are likely to be the federal ban on elephant captivity in zoos and safari parks, the feasibility and cost of transferring elephants to sanctuaries, and the burden on existing exhibitors and facilities. Potential critics may question whether sanctuaries have sufficient capacity, whether the three-year transfer timeline is workable, and how the costs of relocation and long-term care would be funded. Supporters are likely to focus on animal welfare, the ethical case against captivity, and the bill’s reliance on accredited sanctuaries rather than public display facilities.