Wildlife traffickers beware: Buchanan’s RAWR Act advances to Senate

A bipartisan, bicameral anti-wildlife trafficking proposal sponsored by U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL) on Monday received approval from the U.S. House of Representatives and moves on to the U.S. Senate for consideration.

“Wildlife trafficking is a nefarious and persistent threat to endangered animals across the world,” said Rep. Buchanan, co-chair of the Animal Protection Caucus. “The RAWR Act provides another tool to crack down on the billions of dollars generated by this illegal activity. It is now up to the Senate to approve this important measure.”

Rep. Buchanan in January sponsored the Rescuing Animals With Rewards (RAWR) Act of 2019, H.R. 97, with cosponsors including U.S. Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) and Dina Titus (D-NV) to authorize the U.S. State Department to offer monetary rewards for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of wildlife traffickers around the globe.

The same-named Senate bill, S. 1590, was introduced in May by U.S. Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR).

The proposed legislation would stipulate that wildlife trafficking is a major transnational crime estimated to generate more than $10 billion a year in illegal profits for organized, sophisticated criminal enterprises, including known terrorist organizations, according to the bill’s text.

“Wildlife trafficking not only threatens endangered species worldwide, but also jeopardizes local security, spreads disease, undermines rule of law, fuels corruption, and damages economic development,” according to the bill. “Combating wildlife trafficking requires a coordinated and sustained approach at the global, regional, national, and local levels.”

If enacted, the measure would modify the State Department’s rewards program to authorize rewards to individuals who provide information that assists federal authorities in identifying and preventing crimes related to wildlife trafficking.

“It is imperative that we get this bill to the president’s desk as soon as possible,” said Rep. Buchanan. “Whistleblowing protects global wildlife and denies terrorist groups funding derived from this illicit industry. We should be doing all we can to encourage bringing these criminals to justice.”