The Global Anti-Poaching Act aims to make wildlife trafficking cases easier to prosecute and authorize tougher penalties for wildlife traffickers by classifying wildlife trafficking violations — when the products involved have a total value exceeding $10,000 — predicate offenses under the Travel Act, money laundering and anti-racketeering statutes. The bill proposes also to use money confiscate from wildlife trafficking to help combat poaching in Africa and aims to hold countries accountable when they fail to observe international anti-trafficking laws.
“This bipartisan bill provides additional tools and resources to curb illegal killing of some of the world’s most iconic and at-risk species and trafficking in their parts,” said Wayne Pacelle, who is the head of the Humane Society of the United States. In a statement. “Poaching is a global crisis, and the world needs U.S. leadership on the issue.”
Poaching incidents have increased dramatically in recent years, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council. Ten thousand elephants were killed between 2010 and 2012, which is a quarter of the remaining population, and between 2007 and 2014, rhino poaching incidents went from just 13 to over 1,200.
Anti-poaching efforts have gained even more attention recently, however. Just last summer, a dentist from Minnesota sparked global outrage when he killed Cecil, a well-known male lion who lived in Zimbabwe. Cecil was reportedly lured out of Hwange National Park and shot with a compound bow. As a result, the hunter — Walter Palmer — faced a worldwide whirlwind of rage and was on the receiving end of vicious threats. Palmer had allegedly paid $50,000 for the right to “hunt” the lion and Zimbabwe ultimately did not charge him because he had allegedly obtained legal authority to conduct the hunt. The scandal did, however, pushed efforts along in Washington to combat overseas poaching.