Protecting Local Zoos Act of 2026

The "Protecting Local Zoos Act of 2026" amends the Lacey Act Amendments of 1981, primarily adjusting regulations concerning captive wildlife offenses. It expands the categories of entities excepted from certain prohibitions to include those licensed by the Department of Agriculture to hold animals. The bill also clarifies the types of personnel, such as owners, executives, volunteers, and various veterinary professionals, who are covered under these exceptions. A significant change is the explicit exclusion of snow leopards and clouded leopards , including their hybrids, from the definition of "prohibited wildlife species" under the Act. The legislation introduces a new exception allowing individuals or entities already possessing prohibited wildlife species to retain them. This requires them to register each animal with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and subsequently refrain from breeding, acquiring, or selling new animals, allowing direct public contact, or exhibiting them. Furthermore, the bill permits excepted entities, such as zoos, to engage in the export and import of prohibited wildlife species with authorized foreign entities. Finally, it establishes a mechanism for entities that mistakenly registered under a specific Lacey Act provision to cancel their registration if they qualified for another exception at the time.