H.R. 181 — To amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to provide that artificially propagated animals shall be treated the same under that Act as naturally propagated animals, and for other purposes.

This section prohibits the Secretary from distinguishing between naturally propagated animals and artificially propagated animals (i.e., captive-bred) in making any determination under the Endangered Species Act. (Thus, such determinations—such as whether to list a species as endangered or threatened under ESA Section 4—must treat wild-born and artificially propagated animals equivalently.)

This section revises Section 14 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to require the Secretary to authorize artificial propagation (i.e., captive breeding) of animals of a species for any mitigation required under the Act with respect to such species. (As background, ESA mitigation compensates for adverse project impacts on listed species, such as through population enhancement via hatcheries.)

This section applies the amendments made by this Act to any species determined to be endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act, regardless of whether the listing determination occurred before, on, or after the date of enactment.