Canadian company FeelGood Natural Health Stores pleaded guilty to violating the Lacey Act by exporting and selling harp seal oil capsules in violation of the Marine Mammal Protection Act, the DOJ announced. The company faces a maximum fine of $500,000 and five years' probation. However, as part of the plea deal, the U.S. and FeelGood recommended a $20,000 fine and three years' probation during which the firm "must create and implement a compliance plan, train its employees, obtain any necessary licenses, and cooperate fully with the government."
Trade agreements could support the administration's goal of fighting deforestation, and so could legislation similar to the Forest Act (see 2110070050), but either path will have to contend with the difficulties of political sensitivities in targeted countries, the possibility of unintended consequences, and the logistical challenges of identifying products from deforested land and enforcing a ban on their entry to the U.S., two recent reports said.
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The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service will begin requiring Lacey Act import declarations for a new set of plant materials and products beginning as early as spring 2024, it said in an emailed bulletin March 27. The agency is reviewing the tariff schedule to “determine the complete list of materials and products that will be included in Phase VII” of Lacey Act enforcement, and will publish a “complete list” in the fall of “materials and products” that will be newly subject to the import declaration requirement, it said. APHIS “will require declarations for those product codes 6 months” after it publishes the list, it said.
The Fish and Wildlife Service is increasing amounts of civil penalties for violations of the laws and regulations it administers, including the Lacey Act and the Endangered Species Act, it said in a final rule. The annual increase for inflation raises penalties about 7.7% over penalty amounts set in 2022, the FWS said.
Richard Kazmaier, former associate professor of biology at West Texas A&M University, was sentenced to six months in prison, three years of post-release supervision and a $5,000 fine for "importing protected wildlife" without declaring it or getting the proper permits, DOJ announced Jan. 11. Kazmaier admitted to importing around 358 wildlife items -- skulls, skeletons and taxidermy mounts -- in violation of the Lacey Act.
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Herdade Lokua and Jospin Mujangi, citizens of the Democratic Republic of Congo, were sentenced, respectively, to 20 months and 14 months in prison for their roles in a scheme to smuggle wildlife products from the DRC to Seattle, DOJ announced. Both defendants pleaded guilty to conspiracy and Lacey Act charges.
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The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service hopes to begin implementation of its seventh and penultimate phase of Lacey Act declaration requirements toward the end of 2023, the agency’s Erin Otto said Sept. 19, speaking at a National Customs Brokers & Forwarders Association of America conference in Washington. Otto said APHIS hopes to complete phase seven implementation in the summer of 2024, at which point the agency will pivot to the final phase eight.