APPENDIX 1: EXCERPTS FROM SELECTED FEDERAL AND STATE LAWS

The following material is provided for the convenience of law enforcement officers.

FEDERAL LAWS - from the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (1988):

PENALTIES AND ENFORCEMENT

Sec. 11. (a) CIVIL PENALTIES.

(1) Any person who knowingly violates, and any person engaged in business as an importer or exporter of fish, wildlife, or plants who violates, any provision of the Act, or any provision of any permit or certificate issued hereunder, or of any regulation issued in order to implement subsection (a)(1)(A), (B), (C), (D), (E), or (F), (a)(2)(A), (B), (C), or (D), (c), (d) (other than regulation relating to record keeping or filing of reports), (f), or (g) of section 9 of this Act, may be assessed a civil penalty by the Secretary of not more than $25,000 for each violation. Any person who knowingly violates, and any person engaged in business as an importer or exporter of fish, wildlife, or plants who violates, any provision of any other regulation issued under this Act may be assessed a civil penalty by the Secretary of not more than $12,000 for each such violation. Any person who otherwise violates any provision of the Act, or any regulation, permit, or certificated issued hereunder, may be assessed a civil penalty by the Secretary of not more than $500 for each such violation. No penalty may be assessed under this subsection unless such person is given notice and opportunity for a hearing with respect to such violation. Each violation shall be a separate offense. Any such civil penalty may be remitted or mitigated by the Secretary. Upon any failure to pay a penalty assessed under this subsection, the Secretary may request the Attorney General to institute a civil action in a district court of the United States for any district in which such person is found, resides, or transacts business to collect the penalty and such court shall have jurisdiction to hear and decide any such action. The court shall hear such action on the record made before the Secretary and shall sustain his action if it is supported by substantial evidence on the record considered as a whole.

(2) Hearings held during proceedings for the assessment of civil penalties by paragraph (1) of this subsection shall be conducted in accordance with section 554 of title 5, United States Code. The Secretary may issue subpoenas for the attendance and testimony of witnesses and the production of relevant papers, books, and documents, and administer oaths. Witnesses summoned shall be paid the same fees and mileage that are paid to witnesses in the courts of the United States. In case on contumacy or refusal to obey a subpoena served upon any person pursuant to this paragraph, the district court of the United States for any district in which such person is found or resides or transacts business, upon application by the United States and after notice to such person, shall have jurisdiction to issue an order requiring such person to appear and give testimony before the Secretary or to appear and produce documents before the Secretary, or both, and any failure to obey such order of the court may be punished by such court as a contempt thereof.

(3) Notwithstanding any other provision of the Act, no civil penalty shall be imposed if it can be shown by a preponderance of the evidence that the defendant committed an act based on a good faith belief that he was acting to protect himself or herself, a member of his or her family, or any other individual from bodily harm, from any endangered or threatened species.

 

(b) CRIMINAL VIOLATION.

(1) Any person who knowingly violates any provision of this Act, of any permit or certificate issued hereunder, or of any regulation issued in order to implement subsection (a)(1)(A), (B), (C), (D), (E), or (F); (a)(2)(A), (B), (C), or (D), (c), (d) (other than a regulation relating to record keeping, or filing of reports), (f), or (g) of section 9 of this Act shall, upon conviction, be fined not more that $50,000 or imprisoned for not more than one year, or both. Any person who knowingly violates any provision of any other regulation issued under this Act shall, upon conviction, be fined not more than $25,000 or imprisoned for not more than six months, or both.

(2) The head of any Federal agency which has issued a lease, license, permit, or other agreement authorizing a person to import or export fish, wildlife, or plants, or to operate a quarantine station for imported wildlife, or authorizing the use of Federal lands, including grazing of domestic livestock, to any person who is convicted of a criminal violation of this Act or any regulation, permit, or certificate issued hereunder may immediately modify, suspend, or revoke each lease, license, permit, or other agreement. The Secretary shall also suspend for a period of up to one year, or cancel any Federal hunting or fishing permits or stamps issued to any person who is convicted of a criminal violation of any provision of this Act or any regulation, permit, or certificate issued hereunder. The United States shall not be liable for the payments of any compensation, reimbursement, or damages in connection with the modification, suspension, or revocation of any leases, licenses, permits stamps, or other agreements pursuant to this section.

STATE LAWS - Arizona Game and Fish Commission

Order 43: Reptiles: (G):

There is no open season on Phrynosoma mcallii (flat-tailed horned lizard), Heloderma suspectum (Gila monster), Crotalus lepidus (rock rattlesnake), Crotalus pricei (twin-spotted rattlesnake), Crotalus willardi (ridgenose rattlesnake), Sistrurus catenatus (massasauga), and Gopherus agassizii (desert tortoise): see Notes 3 and 4. (Note 3: Pursuant to R12-4-407.1, desert tortoises legally held prior to January 1, 1988, may be possessed, transported, and propagated. Possession limit is one desert tortoise per person. Progeny of lawfully held desert tortoises may, for twenty-four months from the date of hatching, be held in captivity in excess of the stated limit. Before or upon reaching twenty-four months of age, such progeny must be disposed of by gift to another person or as directed by the Department. Note 4 applies to massasaugas).

 

R12-4-401 LIVE WILDLIFE DEFINITIONS:

Restricted live wildlife means that wildlife which has been determined by the Commission to be an actual or potentially significant threat to indigenous wildlife by competition, disease or parasites, habitat degradation, predation, or impact on population management; or an actual or potentially significant threat to public safety by disease, physical threat, property damage, or nuisance. Restricted live wildlife is listed in R12-4-406 and a special license or exemption pursuant to Article 4 is required in order to engage in any activity prohibited by A.R.S. 17-306 or R12-4-402.

 

STATE LAWS - Fish and Game Code for California (from J., B., and L. Gould 1991)

2080. Prohibiting the import or export of endangered species.

No person shall import into this state, export out of this state, or take, possess, purchase, or sell within this state, any species, or any part or product thereof, that the commission determines to be an endangered species or a threatened species, or attempt any of those acts, except as otherwise provided in this chapter, the Native Plant Protection Act (Chapter 10 (commencing with section 1900) of this code), or in the California Desert Native Plants Act Division 23 (commencing with Section 70500) of the Food and Agricultural Code).

 

12008. Violation of provisions relating to endangered species.

Except as otherwise provided in Section 597 of the Penal Code, the punishment for a violation of any of the following provisions is s fine of not more than five thousand dollars ($5,000) or imprisonment in the county jail for not more than one year, or both the fine and imprisonment. (a) Chapter 1.5 (commencing with Section 2050) of Division 3. [California Endangered Species Act]

 

STATE LAWS - CALIFORNIA ADMINISTRATIVE CODE, TITLE 14.

674. Permits to Possess Desert Tortoises (Gopherus).

(a) Desert Tortoises may be possessed only under the authority of a permit issued by the department. The department may issue a permit for the possession of a desert tortoise provided the tortoise was legally acquired and possessed prior to March 7, 1973. The department may require an applicant for a permit to submit proof of the legal acquisition of any desert tortoise. (b) Applications for a tortoise permit shall be submitted on forms furnished by the department and may be filed with the department at any time. Upon approval of the application, the department shall provide a tag which shall be affixed to the desert tortoise as directed by the department. (c) No desert tortoise may be transferred to any other person without prior department approval. (d) Possession of a desert tortoise, regardless of subspecies, except under the authority of a department permit is in violation of this section. Untagged desert tortoises shall be seized by the department.