# 119-hr-2976: Cold-blooded Animal Research and Exhibition Act

119-hr-2976, Cold-blooded Animal Research and Exhibition Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. McCollum, Betty [D-MN-4] (D-MN); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-06-12).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2976
- As of: 2026-06-12
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-2976
- Congress: 119
- Title: Cold-blooded Animal Research and Exhibition Act
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2025-04-21
- Sponsor: Rep. McCollum, Betty [D-MN-4] (D-MN)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Policy area: Animals
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-06-12

## Summary

**Adds cold-blooded species to the Animal Welfare Act.** This bill would expand federal coverage to reptiles, amphibians, cephalopods, and fish for purposes of research, testing, exhibition, and as pets, while keeping several current exclusions in place. - Researchers and laboratories: Labs that work with covered cold-blooded species would fall under Animal Welfare Act rules for care and oversight. The bill keeps birds, rats (genus Rattus), and mice (genus Mus) bred for research excluded. - Exhibitors and aquariums: Zoos, aquariums, and other exhibitors showing these species would face the Act’s standards for housing and display. - Pet owners and sellers: People who own, breed, or sell these cold-blooded pets would be subject to the Act’s protections and requirements for animals kept as pets. - Clarifications and exclusions: The bill specifies that “dog” includes all dogs, such as hunting, security, or breeding dogs, and it preserves exclusions for horses not used in research and farmed animals used for food, fiber, or production improvement.

## Provisions PRIA read

- New rules for cold-blooded animals: mixed, medium. This bill would expand the Animal Welfare Act to cover cold-blooded animals used in research, testing, exhibition, or kept as pets. It lists reptiles, amphibians, cephalopods, and fish, and would let the Secretary add more species. It would also clarify that “dog” means all dogs, including hunting,…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-3077: Agriculture Resilience Act of 2025
- 119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act
- 119-hr-4393: DIGNIDAD (Dignity) Act of 2025
- 119-hr-7481: Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2026
- 119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act
- 119-hr-4714: End Polluter Welfare Act of 2025

## Sources
- [119-hr-2976 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/2976)

## Related
- [119-hr-3077: Agriculture Resilience Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3077)
- [119-hr-7977: Energy Bills Relief Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7977)
- [119-hr-4393: DIGNIDAD (Dignity) Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-4393)
- [119-hr-7481: Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2026](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7481)
- [119-hr-7973: Momnibus Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-7973)
- [119-hr-4714: End Polluter Welfare Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-4714)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2976 (as of 2026-06-12).