U.S. House Passes Buchanan Bill to Protect Endangered Wildlife

Statement

The U.S. House Tuesday passed Congressman Vern Buchanan's legislation aimed at cracking down on wildlife poaching and the illicit trafficking of endangered species. The Rescuing Animals With Rewards (RAWR) Act, included in a broad government funding bill, allows the State Department to offer rewards for information leading to the arrest or conviction of wildlife traffickers around the globe.

The bill is expected to be approved by the Senate later this week and sent to President Trump for his signature.

"Wildlife trafficking is a grave and persistent threat to endangered animals across the world," said Buchanan, a leader in protecting animals and promoting wildlife conservation. "The RAWR Act would provide another tool to crack down on the billions of dollars generated by this illegal industry."

The RAWR Act would explicitly add wildlife trafficking to the list of criminal activities the State Department can target with financial rewards for whistleblowers. The RAWR Act (H.R. 97) previously passed the U.S. House as a standalone bill back in July.

Endangered animals are subjected to some of the most horrifying acts of abject cruelty due to wildlife trafficking. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has stated that "thousands of wildlife species" are threatened by trafficking. Elephants, rhinos, giraffes, lions and other animals are targeted by poachers across the globe. In the past few years some of the gains of conservation of rhinos have been halted due to a surge in poaching, as the rhino horn is used in traditional medicine. Hundreds of lions are killed and mutilated for their claws and teeth each year. According to one report by National Geographic in 2018, four young lions were found with their faces and paws hacked off.

"The slaughter of wildlife for their parts is one of the greatest threats to rare species across the world," said Penny Eastman, deputy director of federal legislation for Animal Wellness Action. "Rep. Buchanan has stepped up again with this anti-wildlife trafficking measure to combat the merciless killing of the planet's wildlife."

Crimes related to illicit wildlife trafficking generates billions of dollars every year, much of which is funneled to terrorist groups. It is estimated that a kilogram of raw ivory can fetch as much as $2,100, while a kilogram of rhino horn is worth $65,000.

"It is critical that we get this bill to the president's desk as soon as possible," Buchanan continued. "We need to incentivize whistleblowing that will protect global wildlife and deny terrorist groups funding derived from this nefarious industry."

Terrorist organizations, including Boko Haram, use poaching as a main funding source to finance their other activities. Boko Haram alone has killed 25,000 elephants in a ten year period.

"With the passage of the RAWR Act in the congressional spending bill, the State Department will be able to further crack down on the destructive and highly lucrative wildlife trafficking industry which is decimating iconic species like elephants and lions--and must be stopped," said Sara Amundson, president of the Humane Society Legislative Fund. "This is another significant, bipartisan victory for Rep. Buchanan and Rep. Titus in their unparalleled fight to protect our world's most imperiled species."

Buchanan co-chairs the Animal Protection Caucus in Congress and received a perfect score from the Humane Society for his leadership and votes in 2019. He is also a past winner of the Humane Society's prestigious "Legislator of the Year" award. Last month Buchanan's bill making animal abuse a federal offense was signed into law.

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