Washington State Votes Overwhelmingly to Protect Endangered Species
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Federal law prohibits the import of many species on the I-1401 list. But the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service is grossly understaffed. Once “products” get into the United States, it is open season on purchase and trade. Only rarely — such as the case of a Beverly Hills, California, restaurant serving shark fin soup — are the miscreants caught.
The ports of Seattle and Tacoma ports are major places of entry for cargoes of the “extinction economy.” The United States is the world’s second-largest market (after China) for parts or carcasses of species facing extinction.
The Woodland Park Zoo recently trotted out such “products” as a paperweight made of a cheetah’s paw and an ashtray fashioned from the foot of a rhino. It displayed Chinese herbal medicines made with rhino horns and shoes made from the skins of sea turtles.
I-1401 will slap stiff penalties — a gross misdemeanor or a Class C felony — on persons participating in or aiding the “extinction economy.” The average length of incarceration for conviction of an unranked Class C felony is 86 days behind bars. Those convicted of a gross misdemeanor for trafficking would pay a $2,000 criminal wildlife fine.
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http://blog.seattlepi.com/seattlepolitics/2015/11/03/washington-votes-in-a-landslide-to-protect-endangered-species/
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