Ranking Member Grijalva Introduces CECIL Act to Prevent Poaching and Importation of Lions and Other Threatened Species to the U.S.
Washington, D.C. – Ranking Member Raúl M. Grijalva today introduced the Conserving Ecosystems by Ceasing the Importation of Large (CECIL) Animal Trophies Act, a bill that restricts the importation of African lions and other sport-hunted species that have been proposed for listing under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The move comes shortly after Walter Palmer, the Minnesota dentist who killed the well-known Cecil the Lion in an illegal hunt in Zimbabwe, returned to work after a prolonged absence in which federal law enforcement officials were unable to contact him.
Sen. Robert Menendez recently introduced a companion bill in the Senate.
The bill:
- Amends the ESA to treat species proposed to be listed as threatened or endangered as though they have already been listed for the purposes of trophy hunting import licensing, thereby prohibiting unpermitted take or trade of species proposed to be listed. Strengthening the ESA in this way would prevent the rush to take animal trophies before a listing is finalized, such as the one that happened when polar bears were proposed to be listed as threatened in 2008.
- Requires that any wildlife imports to the U.S. enhance the conservation of the species.
- Directs the Government Accountability Office to determine whether there is any evidence that trophy hunting in foreign countries contributes to wildlife conservation, and recommend reforms for the industry. The killing of Cecil the Lion and last year’s suspension of elephant trophy imports from Zimbabwe and Tanzania have raised serious concerns about the accountability and effectiveness of trophy hunting programs that claim to have conservation benefits.
Because the ESA requires that proposed listings be finalized or withdrawn no later than one year after the proposal is made – with a six-month extension possible in the case of scientific uncertainty – the CECIL Act offers an additional 12 to 18 months of protection for vulnerable species that have not yet had a finalized listing.
Grijalva has a long history of advocating for endangered species protection and recovery, especially for rare cats. Selected 2015 highlights are below.
June 10: Rep. Grijalva introduces the Rare Cats and Canids Act of 2015 (H.R. 2697), which provides conservation resources to the Department of the Interior for cat and canine species listed on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List as threatened, vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered. The bill establishes a conservation fund to assist local wildlife management authorities and organizations that demonstrate sustainable management practices.
July 29: At a Natural Resources Committee hearing, Rep. Grijalva asks Michael Bean of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) whether Dr. Palmer imported any part of Cecil the Lion into the United States; whether FWS prohibits or restricts the importation of wildlife by people with wildlife poaching convictions like Dr. Palmer’s; and when FWS would finalize its proposed listing for African lions as threatened under the ESA, which was initially published in October 2014.
July 30: Rep. Grijalva asks FWS in a letter signed by 49 other House Democrats to finalize its long-awaited listing of African lions under the ESA.
Sept. 8: Rep. Grijalva sends a letter to Interior Secretary Sally Jewell and Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dan Ashe urging them to finalize the ESA listing for African lions and thoroughly review federal trophy hunting regulations, including an assessment of whether they sufficiently ensure that trophy hunts conserve species habitat.
The new CECIL Act has 27 original cosponsors, all Democrats. A full list is available below.
Rep. Adam Schiff (Calif.)
Rep. Mike Honda (Calif.)
Rep. Julia Brownley (Calif.)
Rep. Chris Van Hollen (Md.)
Rep. Matt Cartwright (Pa.)
Rep. Dina Titus (Nev.)
Del. Madeleine Bordallo (Guam)
Rep. Earl Blumenauer (Ore.)
Rep. Corrine Brown (Fla.)
Rep. Tony Cardenas (Calif.)
Rep. Steve Cohen (Tenn.)
Rep. John Conyers (Mich.)
Rep. Susan Davis (Calif.)
Rep. Donna Edwards (Md.)
Rep. Sam Farr (Calif.)
Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D.C.)
Rep. Bill Keating (Mass.)
Rep. Ted Lieu (Calif.)
Rep. David Loebsack (Iowa)
Rep. Alan Lowenthal (Calif.)
Rep. Stephen Lynch (Mass.)
Rep. Gregory Meeks (N.Y.)
Rep. Mike Quigley (Ill.)
Rep. Charles Rangel (N.Y.)
Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (Calif.)
Rep. Brad Sherman (Calif.)
Rep. Judy Chu (Calif.)
Press Contact
Media Contact: Adam Sarvana
(202) 225-6065 or (202) 578-6626
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