ALERT: Lacey Act Amendments

Here we go again, folks. This is literally the same amendment to the Lacey Act that failed a while back, just round 2. Please reach out to your district House Representatives, and your state's Senators to express opposition to this amendment to the Lacey Act.

https://usark.org/23lacey/

U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-Florida) has again introduced a short-sighted bill to amend the Lacey Act, with the title ‘‘Lacey Act Amendments of 2023.” This bill would reverse the USARK federal lawsuit victory by reinstating the ban on interstate transportation of species listed as injurious under the Lacey Act, among other things. The bill would also create a “white list” (see #2 below). This goes far beyond large constrictor snakes. This will trickle down to hundreds or thousands of common pet species. Also, note this does not pertain only to non-native species. FWS has already listed U.S. native species of salamanders as injurious.

Briefly, the amendments will:

1. Provide that the Lacey Act bans the interstate transport of species listed as injurious. Specifically, it replaces Lacey’s current language ‘‘shipment between the continental United States’’ with ‘‘transport between the States.”
2. Create a “white list” of species that can be imported. This means that any animal (reptile, amphibian, fish, bird, mammal) that is not on the white list is by default treated as potentially injurious and is banned from importation.
3. Create a new authority allowing FWS to use an “emergency designation” that becomes effective immediately after being published in the Federal Register unless an extension of no more than 60 days is allowed. That means no due process, public input, hearings, advanced notice, etc. for injurious listings.
4.Permit FWS to not allow importation if a species has not been imported in “minimal quantities” (to be defined) in the year prior to the enactment of this Act.
The effective date would be one year after the enactment of this Act.
Read the bill text at https://usark.org/wp-content/uploads...acey-Rubio.pdf.

We will provide more details on actions to take. No bill number has been assigned yet.

In our landmark court decision, four federal judges agreed that USARK was correct and that the Lacey Act (Title 18 Section 42 of the U.S. Code) did not ban interstate transportation of injurious species based on the original language of the Lacey Act and the intent of Congress. As a result of this fight for our members and the herpetocultural community, this meant animals domestically bred under human care could be moved and sold across state lines (within the continental United States). For herpetoculturists’ concerns, this included some species of constrictor snakes and 201 species of salamanders.

I don’t see this passing. It’s FL a largely republican state, and I really have no idea why they are so anal over animals. The only people that die over handling venomous, are accidental and only harming their self. If they’re going to ban pets and research animals, then it will fail. Obviously drugs are illegal and it didn’t stop anyone, to the point states like Oregon have practically legalized user amounts with a $60 non-criminal ticket.

I’m not saying there’s no risk obviously, but unless it’s FL or GA where they hate private ownership, I don’t see it ever being an issue. My dads buddy lonny in the late 2,000s owned rattle snakes in TN, and posted no trespassing signs all over his property. He had no permit, and he received a bite. Apparently the hospital told the police, which was possibly a hipaa violation, and 3 weeks later they sent 4 units to his fence (he had a large gated driveway).
By the time they gained entry he had already released everything, all native species to the area. They had nothing, and left.

He was found dead 6 years later, of multiple rattlesnake bites inside his home.


My point is, even if they make them illegal, it’ll just turn into a blackmarket hush/hush thing. In WA it already is like that, everybody just Deltas to Oregon and drives them back over. It’s a non-criminal offense and a monetary fine of $200-$2,000 per animal.
WA right now is so bad off, they release every non-violent criminal back to the streets.

If they do pass this you’ll either have people moving to PA or TX, or it’ll just be hush.