What Is The Lacey Act? - National Whistleblower Center

What is the Lacey Act?

Enacted in 1900, the Lacey Act is one of the United States’ oldest wildlife protection laws. Named after its champion, Congressman John Lacey, the law was originally passed to address the overhunting of game birds.

The Lacey Act made it a federal crime to “import, export, transport, sell, receive, acquire, or purchase in interstate or foreign commerce any wildlife that was taken, possessed, transported, or sold in violation of any law or regulation of any State or in violation of any foreign law.” Under the Lacey Act, it is also illegal to mislabel wildlife shipments, bring injurious species into the country, and import live wildlife under inhumane conditions.

The Lacey Act has been amended several times since 1900 to include a broader range of species, such as amphibians, reptiles and all fish and wildlife covered by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

In May 2008, Congress passed a landmark amendment to the Lacey Act that banned trading illegally sourced plants or plant products, including timber, wood, and paper. The amendment was supported by a coalition of environmental, industry, and labor groups seeking to curb the illegal logging trade and protect the U.S. forest sector.

The 2008 amendment significantly increased responsibility along the timber supply chain, particularly for importers. The amendment holds importers of plants or plant products responsible for ensuring that imported plants or plant products are legally sourced. Importers must exercise due care to ensure that the plant or plant produce was not taken, harvested, possessed, transported, sold or exported in violation of an underlying law in the U.S. or in any foreign country. Additionally, importers are required to declare certain plants or plant products at the time of import and provide information including the scientific name, quantity, value, and country of harvest origin.

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