Law and Government Legislation regarding 'Animals' in Federal Government

Human-Animal Hybrid Prohibition Act of 2008- Amends the federal criminal code to prohibit and to set penalties for: (1) creating or attempting to create a human-animal hybrid (a being with human and non-human tissue as specified in this Act); (2) transferring or attempting to transfer a human embryo into a non-human womb, or a non-human embryo into a human womb; or (3) transporting or receiving for any purpose a human-animal hybrid.

Designates May 16, 2008, as Endangered Species Day.

Encourages: (1) schools to spend at least 30 minutes on such Day teaching and informing students about threats to, and efforts to restore, endangered species; (2) organizations, businesses, private landowners, and agencies with a shared interest in conserving endangered species to collaborate in developing educational information for use in schools; and (3) people to become educated about, and aware of, threats to species, success stories in species recovery, and opportunities to promote species conservation.

(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

Extends: (1) with specified exceptions, agricultural programs under the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 until April 18, 2008; and (2) the farmland protection program, the ground and surface water conservation program, and the wildlife habitat incentives program.

Suspends permanent price support authorities through April 18, 2008.

Declares that the United States should: (1) undertake bilateral discussions with Canada to negotiate an agreement for the conservation and protection of migratory or transboundary populations of large whales at risk of extinction in the northwest Atlantic Ocean, including mechanisms for reducing incidents of endangered large whales becoming entangled in fishing gear, being struck by ships, or otherwise adversely impacted by human activity; and (2) until that agreement becomes operational, continue to reduce such human activity impacts while taking steps to minimize the economic impact of such efforts on affected industries.

Computer-Assisted Remote Hunting Act - Amends the federal criminal code to prohibit and to establish penalties for knowingly making available a computer-assisted remote hunt (i.e., using a computer or other device, equipment, or software to allow a person remotely to control the aiming and discharge of a weapon to kill or injure an animal while not in the physical presence of the weapon).

(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

Honors those individuals and organizations who have volunteered to assist in the cleanup of the November 7, 2007, oil spill in San Francisco Bay.

Human-Animal Hybrid Prohibition Act of 2007 - Amends the federal criminal code to prohibit and to set penalties for: (1) creating or attempting to create a human-animal hybrid (a being with human and non-human tissue as specified in this Act); (2) transferring or attempting to transfer a human embryo into a non-human womb, or a non-human embryo into a human womb; or (3) transporting or receiving for any purpose a human-animal hybrid.

Directs the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to convey four specified parcels of land in Twin Falls, Idaho, to the city of Twin Falls for use to support public purposes, including a limited agricultural exemption to allow for water quality and wildlife habitat improvements.

Directs the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to convey four specified parcels of land in Twin Falls, Idaho, to the city of Twin Falls for use to support public purposes, including a limited agricultural exemption to allow for water quality and wildlife habitat improvements.

Amends the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 1966 to designate a portion of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in Alaska as a component of the National Wilderness Preservation System under the Wilderness Act.

Food and Energy Security Act of 2007 - Revises agricultural and related programs and provisions respecting: (1) producer income; (2) conservation; (3) trade; (4) nutrition; (5) credit; (6) rural development and investment; (7) research and related matters; (8) forestry; (9) energy; (10) livestock marketing; and (11) agricultural security.

National Aquatic Animal Health Act of 2007 - Directs the Secretary of Agriculture to: (1) establish the General Advisory Committee for Oversight of National Aquatic Animal Health which shall make recommendations regarding the national aquatic animal health plan (developed by the National Aquatic Animal Health Task Force); and (2) establish an indemnification fund to compensate aquatic farmers for livestock or agricultural products lost in disease control measures or for related equipment disinfecting costs.

Preserving our Equine Heritage on Public Land Act - Provides for: (1) the continued preservation and use of pack and saddle stock animals on public land administered by the National Park Service, and Bureau of Land Management, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, or the Forest Service on which there is a historical tradition of the use of pack and saddle stock animals; and (2) defining the term "historical tradition of the use of pack and saddle stock animals" for purposes of this Act.

Chisholm Trail and Great Western Trail Studies Act - Amends the National Trails System Act to direct the Secretary of the Interior to conduct separate studies to consider the designation of the Chisholm Trail and the Great Western Trail for study and potential addition to the National Trails System. Requires the Secretary to identify the point at which such Trails originated south of San Antonio, Texas.

Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to collect a user fee from each manufacturer of a food, drug, device, biological product, or animal drug for which a followup reinspection is required to ensure correction of a violation of a Good Manufacturing Practices requirement under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act found by the Secretary during the initial inspection of the manufacturer.

National Forests, Parks, Public Land, and Reclamation Projects Authorization Act of 2007 - Authorizes specified programs and activities in the Department of the Interior, the Forest Service, and the Department of Energy concerning, among other things, land conveyances, boundary adjustments, studies, memorials, commissions, and museums, national park natural resource protection, national trails and rivers, national heritage areas, and advanced energy technology transfer centers.

Makes amendments to various public laws, including the National Trails System Act, the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, the Energy Policy Act of 2005, and the Steel and Aluminum Energy Conservation and Technology Competitiveness Act of 1988.

Makes it unlawful to engage, or to attempt to engage, in commercial harvesting of Atlantic menhaden for reduction purposes in Atlantic coastal waters or in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

Requires a related report to Congress from the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, in cooperation with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Amends the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to provide for the suspension of each provision of the Act with respect to a federal or state agency that manages a federal river basin if the Secretary of the Army (acting through the Chief of Engineers) or the governor of the relevant state determines that: (1) a drought is in effect in the region in which the basin is located; and (2) such drought presents a threat to the health, safety, or welfare of the region's population. Terminates such a suspension on the date the Secretary or governor determines the drought is no longer in effect.

(This measure has not been amended since it was introduced. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

Designates May 2008 as National Be Bear Aware and Wildlife Stewardship Month.

Amends the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to provide for the suspension of each provision of the Act with respect to a federal or state agency that manages a federal river basin if the Secretary of the Army (acting through the Chief of Engineers) or the governor of the relevant state determines that: (1) a drought is in effect in the region in which the basin is located; and (2) such drought presents a threat to the health, safety, or welfare of the region's population. Terminates such a suspension on the date the Secretary or governor determines the drought is no longer in effect.

Atlantic Menhaden Conservation Act - Imposes a fishing moratorium regarding Atlantic menhaden that are reduced to meal and oil for the coastal waters of each coastal state north of South Carolina, including Pennsylvania, the District of Columbia, and the Potomac River Fisheries Commission.

Requires studies and reports.

Makes it unlawful to engage, or to attempt to engage, in the commercial harvesting, in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), of Atlantic menhaden that are reduced to meal and oil.

Sportsmanship in Hunting Act of 2007 - Amends the federal criminal code to prohibit knowingly transferring, transporting, or possessing a confined exotic animal for purposes of allowing the killing or injuring of that animal for entertainment or for the collection of a trophy. Defines "confined exotic animal" as a mammal of a species not indigenous to the United States that has been held in captivity for the majority of its life or a period of one year.

Immunity from Claims Related to Donated Horses Act of 2007 - Requires each humane organization that receives any horse or mule to hold the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), including U.S. Customs and Border Protection, harmless from any demand, suit, action, or claim arising from or related to the government's donation of the horse or mule, including damages to the organization's property and any personal injury, disability, or death of any officer, employee, or agent.

Authorizes horses and mules belonging to the federal government that have become unfit for service to be adopted by the DHS agents who have worked with such horse or mule.

Disapproves the rule submitted by the Secretary of Agriculture relating to bovine spongiform encephalopathy, minimal-risk regions, and importation of live bovines and bovine products, and states that such rule shall have no force or effect.

Disapproves the rule submitted by the Secretary of Agriculture relating to bovine spongiform encephalopathy, minimal-risk regions, and importation of live bovines and bovine products, and states that such rule shall have no force or effect.

Amends the Internal Revenue Code to permit automatic expenditures from the Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund for: (1) annual shoreline erosion control projects, including breakwater construction and sand replenishment; and (2) an environmental mitigation or remediation component, granting priority to projects containing a critical habitat as defined by the Endangered Species Act of 1973.

South Pacific Tuna Fleet Act of 2007 - Declares that a fishery endorsement is not required for a United States documented purse seine tuna fishing vessel home ported in American Samoa while fishing exclusively for highly migratory species under a license issued under the 1987 Treaty on Fisheries Between the Governments of Certain Pacific Island States and the Government of the United States of America in the treaty area or in U.S. exclusive economic zones bordering the treaty area.