New York S 5721: Prohibits the use of primates in entertainment acts

Bill Text

Bill Search and Legislative Information | New York State Assembly 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

 Skip to main content 

 New York State Assembly

 Speaker Carl E. Heastie

 --> 
 --> 

 --> 

• 
 Assembly Members 

• 
 Legislative Info 

• 
 Public Hearings 

• 
 Speaker's Press 

• 
 Assembly Reports 

• 
 Committees & More 

• Bill Search Home
• Laws
• Legislative Calendar
• Public Hearing Schedule
• Assembly Calendars
• Assembly Committee Agenda 

 Javascript must be enabled to properly view this page. 

 Bill No.: 

• Summary 
• Actions 
• Committee&nbspVotes 
• Floor&nbspVotes 
• Memo 
• Text 
• LFIN 
• Chamber&nbspVideo/Transcript 
S05721 Summary:

BILL NOS05721 

&nbsp

SAME ASSAME AS A01835

&nbsp

SPONSORSKOUFIS

&nbsp

COSPNSR

&nbsp

MLTSPNSR

&nbsp

Add §380-a, Ag & Mkts L; add §11-0540-a, En Con L

&nbsp

Prohibits the use of primates in entertainment acts; prohibits the department of environmental conservation for issuing any license or permit that would authorize the use of a primate in an entertainment act.

Go to top S05721 Actions:

BILL NOS05721 

&nbsp

02/28/2025REFERRED TO AGRICULTURE

01/07/2026REFERRED TO AGRICULTURE

Go to topS05721 Committee&nbspVotes:

Go to topS05721 Floor&nbspVotes:

There are no Assembly votes for this bill in this legislative session.

Go to topS05721 Text:

 STATE OF NEW YORK
 ________________________________________________________________________

 5721

 2025-2026 Regular Sessions

 IN SENATE

 February 28, 2025
 ___________

 Introduced by Sen. SKOUFIS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
 printed to be committed to the Committee on Agriculture

 AN ACT to amend the agriculture and markets law and the environmental
 conservation law, in relation to prohibiting the use of primates in
 entertainment acts

 The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
 bly, do enact as follows:

 1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as
 2 the "primate protection act".
 3 § 2. Legislative findings. The legislature hereby finds that:
 4 a. primate abuse is a matter of worldwide concern, and the state as a
 5 recognized environmental leader should help assure the protection and
 6 welfare of primates;
 7 b. it is widely recognized that primates used for entertainment
 8 purposes ("entertainment primates") suffer physical and psychological
 9 harm due to the living conditions and treatment to which they are
 10 subjected, resulting in increased mortality with life spans only one-
 11 half as long as wild primates;
 12 c. entertainment primates live in conditions that are in no way simi-
 13 lar to their natural habitat, including an unnatural diet, restricted
 14 movement, inappropriate housing and a hostile climate;
 15 d. entertainment primates are subjected to confinement and social
 16 isolation, leading to physiological, behavioral and psychological
 17 impairments;
 18 e. entertainment primates transported into the state spend a signif-
 19 icant portion of their lives inside trucks, trains or trailers, enduring
 20 additional physical restrictions and social isolation;
 21 f. the use of primates in entertainment provides a false and inaccu-
 22 rate educational experience for children and adults, often including
 23 performance tricks that are never executed by primates in the wild and
 24 that are stressful or harmful to the animal; and

 EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
 [ ] is old law to be omitted.
 LBD04827-01-5

 S. 5721 2

 1 g. it is in the best interest of the state that the use of primates in
 2 entertainment be prohibited, and that the state use its authority to aid
 3 in the protection and welfare of these animals.
 4 § 3. The agriculture and markets law is amended by adding a new
 5 section 380-a to read as follows:
 6 § 380-a. Use of primates in entertainment acts. 1. No person shall use
 7 or cause to be used primates in any type of entertainment act.
 8 2. Any person that violates the provisions of this section, or any
 9 rule or regulation promulgated pursuant thereto, may be assessed, by the
 10 commissioner, a civil penalty not to exceed one thousand dollars for
 11 each such violation.
 12 3. The provisions of this section shall not apply to:
 13 (a) institutions accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums;
 14 and
 15 (b) wildlife sanctuaries as defined in subdivision thirty-two of
 16 section 11-0103 of the environmental conservation law.
 17 4. As used in this section:
 18 (a) "Primate" means any of the following: a gibbon or siamang (Hyloba-
 19 tidae, Hylobates sp.), orangutan (Hominidae Pongindae, Pongo sp.), chim-
 20 panzee (Hominidae, Homininae Pan. sp.), gorilla (Hominidae, Homini-
 21 nae, Gorilla sp.), macaque (Cercopithecidea, Cercopithecinae,
 22 Macaca sp.), baboon (Cercopithecidae, Cercopithecinae, Papio sp.,
 23 Theropithecus sp., Mandrillus sp.), langur (Cercopithecidae, Colobi-
 24 nac, Presbytis sp., Trachypithe