OUR LAST CHANCE TO SAVE THE HOBBY! LACEY ACT 2022

★ IMPORTANT LINKS ★
►Support USARK: https://usark.org/memberships/
► More Information from USARK: https://usark.org/2022lacey1/
► Find and contact your two (2) U.S. Senators: (template below) https://www.senate.gov/senators/senators-contact.htm
► Read the relevant amendment text (Section 71102 on pages 1661-1665): https://usark.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/2022-HR4521-excerpt.pdf

★ WHAT IS THIS BILL? ★
The America COMPETES Act (HR4521) replaced an earlier version and now has lots of extra sections, including these Lacey Act Amendments. HR4521 passed in the House. It will now be reconciled with (make two bills into one) the Senate version which is the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act (S1260). The bills will be compared by a committee and then Congress will present a bill with language from both of these bills. S1260 does NOT contain this bad Lacey Act section.

★ WHAT IT DOES ★
1. It reverses USARK’s lawsuit victory. That means species listed as injurious cannot be transported across state lines. (i.e. big snakes including reticulated/Burmese pythons, anacondas, 201 species of salamanders)
2. Creates 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 invasive and is banned from importation.
3. Gives FWS a new “emergency designation.” FWS can list a species as injurious and it becomes banned from interstate movement and importation overnight. This means no due process, public input, hearings, advanced notice, etc.
4. FWS can ban importation if a species has not been imported in “minimal quantities.” Minimal quantities will be defined later so we do not know the threshold.

NOTE THAT USARK is not opposing the COMPETES Act. We are opposing the section with these Lacey Act amendments. We do not want that section included in the reconciled bill that emerges from committee. COMPETES is a 3,000-page bill and this is just one small section.


Subject line:
NO to Lacey Act Amendments in America COMPETES Act

Sample letter (also lots of Talking Points below)

I implore you to stop the Lacey Act amendments found in the America COMPETES Act (Section 71102) as your constituent, dedicated advocate for ecological conservation, and pet owner. The lack of forethought involved makes these amendments rife with unintended consequences and government overreach. The Senate’s U.S. Innovation and Competition Act (S1260) and America COMPETES Act (HR4521) will meet to be reconciled. These Lacey Act amendments are not pertinent to the intent of these bills and must be removed!

Not only would these amendments be devastating to thousands of businesses of all sizes (which is absolutely contrary to the purpose of the COMPETES Act), but millions of pet owners would be harmed. As seen previously when listing species as injurious under the Lacey Act, a heavy-handed brush is used to paint species as injurious that may only be an issue for one or two states, and hardly any large percentage of the U.S.

I cannot elaborate enough on the need to regulate injurious species at the state and local levels, not nationwide by a federal agency. Individual states are best positioned to assess local threats and balance the relative costs and benefits of prohibiting species.

If these amendments pass, the Lacey Act will leave pet owners everywhere unable to move across state lines with their family pets. This restriction would include prohibitions of interstate travel for veterinary care, for educational programs, and for relocation of family. The impact will be disproportionately felt by military service members, who are often relocated multiple times during a pet’s lifetime.

The federal and appellate courts have already decided that a ban on interstate transportation with injurious species is not based on the original intent of Congress, but a gradual overreach by the federal agency. This upholds that banning interstate transportation is overreaching and that only the localities, or states, with legitimate range matches should consider regulations regarding these species.

The interstate transport ban under the Lacey Act is not my only concern. The opportunity for injustice and oppressiveness resulting from the section titled Presumptive Prohibition on Importation is especially disturbing!

Rather than this new knee-jerk and supreme authority provided to the federal agency, any expansion of the Lacey Act to create interstate movement bans and a ‘white list/black list’ scenario should include reforms to the injurious listing process, including proof of widespread impact based on sound, peer-reviewed science, and definitely not the biased, pseudo-science witnessed previously.

These Lacey Act amendments are far-reaching and, frankly, un-American. Please realize that the Lacey Act amendments found within the America COMPETES Act are illogical and unjust. Thank you for your time and consideration on this matter. Have a good day.