Lacey Act
The Lacey Act was first introduced by Iowa Congressman John Lacey and signed into law in 1900. The original Act was intended to protect game and wild birds by making it a crime to poach animals in one state with the intention of selling them in another state. It also covered the introduction of non native plant and animal species to local ecosystems.
The Lacey Act has been amended several times since its creation in 1900. The most significant changes occurred in 1969, 1981, and 1988. The 1969 amendments added amphibians, reptiles, mollusks, and crustaceans to the act. Over time the law was progressively expanded to protect big game species as well. Moreover it became criminal to knowingly participate in the trafficking or transportation of covered species of wildlife, fish, or plants or to falsify documents to hide the origin of any of the above.
In 1988, guide/outfitting services were included to cover this potential threat to big game species. The amendments also made it a separate and distinct violation to intentionally falsifying documents pertaining to the export, import, or transport of wildlife, fish, or plants covered by the act.
The Lacey Act most recently has been expanded to include illegally procured trees from endangered species and eco systems. A significant amount of illegal logging has been devastating the world’s forests. Trafficking in illegally harvested timber now carries the same type of penalties as trafficking in endangered animals.
Hallmark Hardwoods applauds the expansion of law to protect forests and to eliminate the price advantage in the market previously enjoyed by these stolen/poached materials. The loss to the world’s ecosystems and negative impact on the local indigenous peoples from these regions has become a serious problem.