Tag Archives: CatX

Landmark Victory for USARK in Python Ban Lawsuit

by
american-flag-gavel-scales-of-justice

“Scales” of Justice prove true for Herpetoculture

Washington DC— April 7, 2017. The United States Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit in the case of the United States Association of Reptile Keepers v. Ryan Zinke, Secretary of The Interior and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Humane Society of the United States and Center for Biological Diversity, ruled in favor of USARK on the question of Lacey Act authority to prohibit interstate transport of species listed as “injurious” under the Lacey Act. The court held that, “the government lacks authority under the shipment clause to prohibit shipments of injurious species between the ‘continental’ States.”

264575_210697215640070_6306357_n5-300x225What does all of this mean?
The way has now been cleared to legally resume trade of the Burmese python, North African python, South African python, reticulated python, DeSchauensee’s anaconda,  Beni anaconda, green anaconda and yellow anaconda within the “continental United States.” However, it appears that injurious species cannot be transported into the District of Columbia. The shipment clause specifically references the “continental United States,” “Hawaii,” the “Commonwealth of Puerto Rico,” and “any possession of the United States”, and the “District of Columbia” as distinct designations. In the court’s opinion the “District of Columbia” is an expressly separate designation from the “continental United States,” and specifically identified as prohibited in the shipment clause. In conclusion, it appears that there will be no legal transport into Washington, DC without the appropriate permits.

Congress defined the phrase “continental United States” in a statute enacted by the same Congress in the year before the 1960 addition of the shipment clause. See Pub. L. No. 86-70, § 48, 73 Stat. 141, 154 (1959); see also 1 U.S.C. § 1 note. Under that definition, “[w]henever the phrase ‘continental United States’ is used in any law of the United States enacted after the date of the enactment of this Act, it shall mean the 49 States on the North American Continent and the District of Columbia, unless otherwise expressly provided.”

Keep in mind that all nine constrictor snakes continue to be listed as injurious under the Lacey Act. This is the real problem. Interstate transport is now allowed, but likely only temporarily. The original intent of the Lacey Act amendments of 1960 was to allow zoos and research facilities the opportunity to work with listed species to import and transport across state lines with a new permit system. Previously, import and transport of listed species was completely prohibited. However, the shipment clause of the Lacey Act was poorly written, leaving it vulnerable to a clarification in the courts that now allows “injurious wildlife” to be transported across state lines. Most in conservation, academics, ranching and farming disagree that it is a good idea to transport “injurious wildlife” from state to state– remember, the injurious list was comprises the most dangerous alien invaders; snakeheads, mongoose, zebra mussels, fruit bats, etc. Constrictor snakes were only recently added. This legal victory buys time for the reptile industry to find more permanent legal remedy to a listing process that was arbitrary and capricious. The “science” was fudged at every turn in violation of the Administrative Procedures Act, Information Quality Act, and the peer review process.

Categorical Exclusion: CatX
Additionally, in 2015, in an unprecedented move, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service empowered itself to shortcut the rule making process under the Lacey Act in order to more easily declare injurious wildlife listings, making way for mass listing of species. Known as CatX, this rule has negatively impacted herpetoculture, and the pet trade by removing scientific justification from the listing process. This led to the listing of 201 salamander species in 2016, prohibiting the import and interstate trade of captive bred specimens. However, the ruling by the court on the authority of the Lacey Act to prohibit interstate transport now opens the way to resume trade of listed captive bred salamander species in the continental U.S., removing CatX’s teeth as a blunt force instrument to prohibit captive breeding programs on American soil. Listed species may be exported. However import without permit is a felony.

http://www.troutmansanders.com/george-y-sugiyama-joins-troutman-sanders-washington-dc-office-03-21-2012/

George Sugiyama, former Chief Minority Counsel, Senate EPW ~ Troutman Sanders

History of the USARK Lawsuit
In 2011, as then-CEO of the U.S. Association of Reptile Keepers (USARK), I led the fight against the listing of nine constrictor snakes as injurious under the Lacey Act. During the course of many visits to Capitol Hill, I met with George Sugiyama, Chief Minority Counsel for the Senate Environmental and Public Works (EPW) Committee. Mr. Sugiyama suggested to me, that in his legal opinion, FWS under the Lacey Act, did not have the authority to restrict interstate transport of species listed as injurious. I loved the simplicity of his argument and directed USARK’s counsel to further research and vet the idea. Subsequently, we hatched a plan, and created a blueprint for a lawsuit challenging the FWS’ authority to regulate interstate transport. The architects of the lawsuit were George Sugiyama, Joan Galvin and myself.

I spent most all of 2012 lobbying the USARK Board of Directors to move forward with the lawsuit. USARK finally filed that lawsuit against then-Interior Secretary Sally Jewell (USARK v. Jewell et al.) in the Federal District Court of Washington, DC in December of 2013— 11 months after I resigned from the organization. In the end it doesn’t matter why they waited. The point is, USARK did file the lawsuit, my strategy proved to be the correct one as illustrated by the court, and herpetoculture gets a huge victory that could resonate for years!

The Injurious Wildlife listing under the Lacey Act, for the moment, can not be used as the weapon it once was against domestic herpetoculture in the United States.

Congratulations USARK and the Reptile Nation for a job well done!
Working on behalf of USARK Joan Galvin, Shawn Gehan, David Frulla, Paul C. Rosenthal, Richard Stanley, and an anonymous legal contributor all played crucial roles in bring this lawsuit to fruition. In addition there have been countless volunteers and fundraisers that contributed and funded this unprecedented success that has been 9 years in the making. It has been my honor and privilege to play my part. My sincerest thank you to USARK and the entire Reptile Nation in this monumental victory for herpetoculture!

Happy Birthday USARK! — Many people don’t know, even the current officers of USARK, but USARK was founded as a trade association dedicated to the interests of herpetoculture on April 5, 2008 in Chicago, specifically to fight the Python Ban. The founding principal was Andrew Wyatt, formerly the founder and president of the North Carolina Association of Reptile Keepers (NCARK). The co-founders of USARK included Mack Robinette, Lou Sangermano, Ralph Davis, Doug Price, Sherry Tregembo, Jeff Ronnie, Warren Booth, Shawn Heflick, Brian Sharp, and Dan and Colette Sutherland. This group would become the USARK Board of Directors electing Wyatt as president and CEO in April 2008. April 5, 2017 was USARK’s Birthday. Happy Birthday to a young and successful trade association.

Andrew Wyatt is a government affairs and policy consultant that works exclusively in the wildlife sector.

Ula and me“Wildlife issues are highly charged and contentious. I specialize in articulating clear policy ideas and getting them in front of key decision makers. Please follow ‘The Last Word on Wildlife’ for insight and analysis particular to the 21st century wildlife sector. If you would like to discuss the potential advantages of creating a comprehensive business/government affairs strategy, or a more targeted issue campaign, please call or email me.” ~ Andrew Wyatt

© 2017 Andrew Wyatt and The Last Word on Wildlife. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Andrew Wyatt and The Last Word on Wildlife with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

FWS Lists 201 Salamanders as Injurious

by
Captive Bred Chinese Fire-bellied Newt

Captive Bred Chinese Fire-bellied Newt

Utilizing the recently enacted Categorical Exclusion, or CatX, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will short-cut procedural checks and balances previously mandated under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Tomorrow FWS will publish an interim rule in the Federal Register adding 201 salamander species to the “Injurious Wildlife” list. The rule will be enacted without the necessity of FWS to submit an Environmental Assessment (EA), or an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) under NEPA.

The new rule adding many salamanders to the Injurious list will be enacted as of January 28, 2016, and would have been logistically impossible without the enactment of CatX late last year. After January 28th, import or interstate transport of listed salamanders, without a rigorous federal permit, will be prohibited.

Why is FWS listing Salamanders as Injurious?

To help prevent a deadly fungus from killing native salamanders, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is publishing an interim rule tomorrow to list 201 salamander species as injurious wildlife under the Lacey Act. The fungus Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans, also known as Bsal or salamander chytrid, is carried on the skin of various salamander species. Bsal has caused major die-offs of salamanders in Europe and poses an imminent threat to U.S. native salamander populations. — U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

While justification for the unprecedented move is not without merit, it bears noting that Bsal has never been found in the U.S., and there has been no evidence of a connection between the spread of Bsal and herpetoculture; the captive production of reptiles and amphibians. Last year, Zoos and the pet industry voluntarily agreed to suspend imports of salamanders into the U.S., increasing speculation regarding FWS’ motivations for the listing. Some will certainly conclude that this move is less about stopping Bsal, and  more about establishing CatX in the law for more liberal future use.

Impact to Herpetoculture
Herpetoculturists will no longer be able to import listed species into the U.S., nor will they be allowed to conduct interstate commerce with captive bred specimens. Regulatory hurdles were put in place for a reason, to avoid arbitrary decision making by agency personnel, and to protect American citizens, business owners and organizations from being run over by their own government. This salamander listing appears to be more about testing the waters for future application of CatX, than stopping Bsal. CatX sets a poor precedent for process and fairness in the regulatory environment. Now that it has been established in the law, stakeholders may be dealing with the consequences of CatX for years to come.

Andrew Wyatt is a government affairs and policy consultant that works exclusively in the wildlife sector. 

WyattP2“The Lacey Act and other wildlife issues are highly charged and contentious. I specialize in working with clients to employ campaign style tactics to change hearts and minds on vital issues in the wildlife sector. Please follow The Last Word for insight and analysis particular to the 21st century wildlife sector. If you would like to discuss the potential advantages of running a targeted issue campaign, and/or a comprehensive government affairs strategy, please call or email me.” ~ Andrew Wyatt

© Andrew Wyatt and The Last Word, 2016. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Andrew Wyatt and The Last Word with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

CatX — Quiet Storm of Lacey Act Overreach

by
Captive Bred Reticulated Python

Captive Bred Reticulated Python

In an unprecedented move, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has empowered itself to shortcut the rule making process under the Lacey Act in order to more easily and arbitrarily declare “Injurious Wildlife” listings, and making way for the potential mass listing of species. Known as CatX, this newly enacted rule will negatively impact zoos and aquariums, research facilities, TV and film, aquaculture, herpetoculture, and the pet trade.

What is a Categorical Exclusion (CatX)?
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) states:
A categorical exclusion is a class of actions under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) that do not individually or cumulatively have a significant effect on the human environment. Under NEPA, Federal agencies are required to consider the potential environmental impact of agency actions prior to implementation. Agencies are then generally required to prepare either an Environmental Assessment (EA) or an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). However, when a Federal agency identifies classes of actions that under normal circumstances do not have a potentially significant environmental impact, either individually or cumulatively, the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations allow the agency to establish a categorical exclusion and to bypass the completion of an EA or an EIS when undertaking those actions.

On October 29, 2015, the FWS quietly enacted a categorical exclusion (CatX), “streamlining” the rule making process necessary to list species as “injurious” under the Lacey Act. FWS will no longer be required to provide an Environmental Assessment (EA), or an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) as supplementary documentation required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Although seemingly innocuous, CatX removes a great deal of due process protections required by NEPA, and could spell disaster to businesses and institutions targeted by FWS.

Under the Lacey Act, importation and interstate transport of animal species determined to be injurious is prohibited without a federal permit.

What does CatX mean for you?
CatX relieves FWS of the requirement to consider economic and social impacts as part of the “human environment” under NEPA. While not every listing decision under the Lacey Act will have significant economic and social impacts, some listings would affect broad segments of the economy and millions of citizens across every state.USFWSlogo-250x300

For example, the recent listing of four constrictor snakes as injurious species has had crippling economic impacts. (Four additional species have been listed, but that action has been stayed by a court injunction.) According to FWS’s own economic analysis, the “annual retail sales losses for” listing the four constrictor snakes “are estimated to range from $3.7 million to $7.6 million.” Herpetoculture industry estimates range as high as, “$76 million to $104 million,” with much of this impact falling disproportionately on small businesses.

These impacts on the “human environment” will only worsen now that FWS has finalized CatX and applies it forward. FWS maintains an “extraordinary circumstances” exception to CatX. However that exception doesn’t include in its criteria, actions with high economic impacts. The careful consideration of economic impacts, which is currently required by NEPA, is especially important in Lacey Act decisions because the act, on its own, doesn’t explicitly require FWS to consider economic impacts in listing or permitting decisions.

Why did U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service enact CatX?
From all appearances, FWS intends to use CatX as a tool to pursue mass listing of species as injurious. Prior to CatX, it would have been difficult, if not impossible, to enact large scale listings. This rule modification could signal difficulty, not only for businesses, but for researchers and institutions that work with commercially viable species that may be targeted. The difficulty in procuring permits necessary to transport listed species across state lines will significantly increase costs to already beleaguered and underfunded research and educational programs. And because of the low priority FWS places on resources and staff for an already taxed permitting process, the listing en masse of species will likely result in an ever increasing backlog of permit applications.

History of CatX
— July 1, 2013- FWS publishes an announcement in the Federal Register of their intention to streamline the listing process to add “injurious” species to the Lacey Act by removing NEPA requirements.
— July 17, 2013- U.S. Herpetoculture Alliance leads a coalition of small business stakeholders and zoological associations to Washington, DC for meetings with the Small Business Administration and Congressional leadership to secure support for opposing CatX.
— July 31, 2013- closes initial Public Comment period.
— January 21, 2014- reopens Public Comment period.
— February 21, 2014- closes final Public Comment period.
— October 29, 2015- FWS publishes the final rule in the Federal Register to add a categorical exclusion (CatX) for listing species as “injurious wildlife” under the Lacey Act.

George Sugiyama, former Chief Minority Counsel, Senate EPW ~ Troutman Sanders

George Sugiyama, former Chief Minority Counsel, Senate EPW ~ Troutman Sanders

USARK Lawsuit Challenging Authority of the Lacey Act to Prohibit Interstate Transport — In 2011, when I was CEO of the U.S. Association of Reptile Keepers (USARK), I led the fight against the listing of nine constrictor snakes as injurious under the Lacey Act. During the course of many visits to Capitol Hill, I met with George Sugiyama, Chief Minority Counsel for the Senate Environmental and Public Works (EPW) Committee. Mr. Sugiyama suggested to me, that in his legal opinion, FWS under the Lacey Act, did not have the authority to restrict interstate transport of species listed as injurious. I loved the simplicity of his argument and directed USARK’s counsel to further research and vet the idea. Subsequently, we hatched a plan, and created a blueprint for a lawsuit challenging the FWS’ authority to regulate interstate transport. USARK filed that lawsuit against Interior Secretary Sally Jewell (USARK v. Jewell et al.) in the Federal District Court of Washington, DC about 11 months after I left the organization, in December of 2013. Final briefs are due February 22, 2016. Oral arguments will follow.

If USARK is successful challenging the authority of FWS to regulate interstate transport, the threat of CatX to zoos, herpetoculture, etc. will largely be negated. If FWS has no authority to regulate interstate transport, they cannot require a permit to do so. However, if the lawsuit fails outright, or on appeal, FWS will be in a position to list species arbitrarily and en masse, disrupting the ability of interested parties to move listed species across state lines, and wreaking economic havoc.

All Amphibians to be Listed as Injurious?
On September 17, 2010 the FWS published a Notice of Inquiry in the Federal Register “To List All Live Amphibians in Trade as Injurious.” The consensus has been that the process would be far too labor intensive and costly for FWS to list all amphibians in a single rule making. However, with the recent enactment of CatX, FWS could “streamline” the process necessary for a mass listing of species. Consider this aggressive timeline since last Spring:

  • May 14, 2015– Center for Biological Diversity and SAVE THE FROGS presents a petition to FWS to, “Institute an Emergency Moratorium on Imports of All Live Salamanders,” and “To List All Live Salamanders in Trade as Injurious.” The petition cites the highly controversial “Broken Screens” report from the Defenders of Wildlife, and the more recent Martel et al., 2014, published in Science Magazine.
  • August 10, 2015– FWS closes the Public Comment period on their Salamander Peer Review Plan to list salamanders as “injurious.”
  • October 29, 2015– CatX is enacted to “streamline” the process for listing “Injurious Wildlife” under the Lacey Act by removing NEPA requirements.

It appears that a proposed rule listing multiple amphibian species is forthcoming. CatX would put any rule on the regulatory fast track.

Conclusion
Regardless of the outcome of USARK v. Jewell et al., or a potential amphibian listing, it is clear that FWS is comfortable taking actions that shortcut accepted administrative procedures and NEPA, in order to realize their own politicized agenda. Regulatory hurdles were put in place for a reason, to avoid arbitrary decision making by agency personnel, and to protect American citizens, business owners and organizations from being run over by their own government. CatX sets a poor precedent for due process/fairness in the regulatory environment. Stakeholders may be dealing with the consequences of this ill-gotten rule for years to come.

“I welcome questions below in the comment section. I’m  always happy to clear confusion resulting from the actions of FWS, or potential implications for you. Let me know.” ~Andrew

Andrew Wyatt is a government affairs and policy consultant that works exclusively in the wildlife sector.

WyattP2“The Lacey Act and other wildlife issues are highly charged and contentious. I specialize in working with clients to employ campaign style tactics to change hearts and minds on vital issues in the wildlife sector. Please follow The Last Word for insight and analysis particular to the 21st century wildlife sector. If you would like to discuss the potential advantages of running a targeted issue campaign, and/or a comprehensive government affairs strategy, please call or email me.” ~ Andrew Wyatt

© Andrew Wyatt and The Last Word, 2015. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Andrew Wyatt and The Last Word with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.