TheLacey Act of 1900 is aconservation law in the United States that, as amended, now prohibits trade in wildlife, fish, and plants that have been illegally taken, possessed, transported, or sold.[1]
Introduced intoCongress by RepresentativeJohn F. Lacey, an Iowa Republican, the Act was signed into law by PresidentWilliam McKinley on May 25, 1900.[2] It now protects bothplants andwildlife by creating civil and criminal penalties for those who violate the rules and regulations (16 U.S.C. 3371-3378). The law authorizes theSecretary of the Interior to aid in restoring game and birds in parts of the U.S. where they have become extinct or rare.[1] It also authorizes theSecretary of the Interior to regulate the introduction of wild birds and mammals to places where they have never existed before, known asinjurious wildlife species (18 U.S.C. 42).[3][4]
In 1900, illegal commercial hunting threatened manygame species in the United States. The original Act was directed at the preservation of game and wild birds, making it a federal crime to poach game in one state with the purpose of selling the bounty in another. The law prohibited the transportation ofillegally captured or prohibited animalsacross state lines,[6] and addressed potential problems caused by the introduction of non-native species of birds and animals into native ecosystems.[3]
Another major motivation for the Lacey Act was the over-hunting of birds formillinery work.[7] For example, the indiscriminate killing of birds byplume hunters in search of thesnowy egret contributed to the extinction of theCarolina parakeet.[8]
Today, the Lacey Act is used primarily to prevent the importation or spread of potentially injuriousnon-native species (18. U.S.C. 42).[3] The Act also makes it unlawful to import, export, transport, sell, receive, acquire, or purchase in interstate or foreign commerce any plant in violation of the laws of the United States, a state, aNative American tribe, or any foreign law that protects plants.[9]
The injurious wildlife provisions of the Lacey Act of 1900 were codified as a separate statute (18 U.S.C. 42) in 1948. Major amendments to that statute occurred in 1960 that expanded the types of wildlife that could be regulated to include fishes, reptiles, amphibians, mollusks, and crustaceans; added human beings, forestry, wildlife and wildlife resources to the interests protected; added a permit exception for species listed as injurious; and other purposes.[4]
The Lacey Act was amended on May 22, 2008, when theFood, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 expanded its protection to a broader range of plants and plant products (Section 8204. Prevention ofIllegal Logging Practices),[10] largely championed by SenatorRon Wyden (D) Oregon, with some arguing that the motivation for the act was to protect US lumber jobs[11] and the supply-chain reporting provisions encountered opposition from the wood industry including objections to the burden of reporting.
As a result, between 2009 and 2012 there was opposition to the bill, leading to the failed introduction ofRELIEF Act (2011 H.R. 3210), which died in June 2012.
In 2022, the law was amended by the "Big Cat Public Safety Act" H.R. 263 to require owners of tigers, lions, and other large cats to have a license, and to prohibit public petting of large cats and their cubs.[14][15]
Gibson Guitar Corporation was raided twice by federal authorities, in 2009 and 2011. Federal prosecutors seized wood from Gibson facilities, alleging that Gibson had purchased smuggledMadagascar ebony andIndian rosewood.[16][17] Gibson initially denied wrongdoing and insisted that the federal government was bullying them.[16][18][19][20]
In August 2012, Gibson entered into a criminal enforcement agreement with theU.S. Department of Justice, admitting to violating the Lacey Act. The terms of the agreement required Gibson to pay a fine of $300,000 in addition to a $50,000 community payment, and to abide by the terms of the Lacey Act in the future.[16][21]
For violating the Lacey Act,Lumber Liquidators was sentenced in 2016 to $7.8 million in criminal fines, $969,175 in criminal forfeiture and more than $1.23 million in community service payments for illegal lumber trafficking. The sentence also included five years of probation, and additional government oversight. The Department of Justice said it was the largest financial penalty ever issued under the Lacey Act.[22]
Anderson, Robert S. "The Lacey Act: America's premier weapon in the fight against unlawful wildlife trafficking."Public Land Law Review 16 (1995): 27+online.
Cart, Theodore Whaley. "The Lacey Act: America's first nationwide wildlife statute."Forest History (1973): 4-13.online
Gorjanc, Laura T. "Combating harmful invasive species under the Lacey Act: removing the dormant commerce clause barrier to state and federal cooperation."Fordham Environmental Law Review (2004): 111–140online.
Prestemona, Jeffrey. "How Effective Are the Lacey Act Amendment of 2008 and Related Trade Measures in Other Nations?."Journal of Forestry 114#2, (Mar 2016): 184-186.excerpt
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