Federal Appeals Court Affirms Penalty on Wildlife Importer for Exporter's Failure to Sign Permit
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit affirmed on Feb. 4 a $20,000 penalty on a wildlife importer for an exporter’s failure to sign a permit required by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Global Tropical…
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Imports and Exports said it’s the Tanzanian exporter’s fault that the export permit wasn’t signed, and argued FWS shouldn’t have held it “vicariously liable” for the missing signature. But the Endangered Species Act requires a valid export permit, and says FWS may assess a civil penalty against any violation of the ESA, not just knowing violations. “Although the regulations required Majoka's signature, it was Global's independent statutory duty to ensure that Majoka signed the document,” the court said. “Thus, we reject Global's argument that FWS wrongly imposed a form of vicarious liability.”