Ten endangered animals facing extinction received protection in Washington State yesterday as voters passed Measure I-1401 (70.9 percent to 29.09 percent). Elephants, rhinoceroses, tigers, lions, leopards, cheetahs, pangolins, marine turtles, sharks, and rays (and their parts or products) may not be imported, sold, traded or distributed within Washington except for certain exemptions. Violators face a maximum penalty of five years in prison and $10,000 fine. Passage of I-1401 closes Tacoma and Seattle ports, which together are the third most trafficked container port in the U.S.
Funding from Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen earlier in 2015 supported the initiative and the collection of 246,372 signatures needed to place the I-1401 on the 3 November ballot. Conservation groups, wildlife organizations and the Seattle zoo and aquarium endorsed I-1401. A website, Save Animals Facing Extinction, described and promoted the effort.
Measure I-1401 states
elephants, rhinoceroses, tigers, lions, leopards, cheetahs, pangolins, marine turtles, sharks, and rays . . . . are threatened with extinction in large part due to the trafficking of their parts and products. The national strategy for combating wildlife trafficking . . . . recognized the important role that states have in protecting species. . .subject to illegal wildlife trade. Federal law regulates the transfer or importation of parts or products made from endangered animal species, but due to the increasing demand for these products around the world, state authority needs to be expanded to appropriately regulate these markets on a local level.
The most effective way to discourage illegal trafficking in animal species threatened with extinction is to eliminate markets and profits . . . . by prohibiting within the state of Washington, with certain limited exceptions, the sale, offer for sale, purchase, trade, barter for, and distribution of any part or product of any species of elephant, rhinoceros, tiger, lion, leopard, cheetah, pangolin, marine turtle, shark, or ray identified as threatened with extinction by specified international conservation organizations.
The Seattle Times
reported on the reasoning behind the measure.
Initiative supporters say that while federal law bans smuggling of many endangered species’ parts, without local penalties the trade continues to run amok . . . . the 10 animals that would be protected were chosen because they’re among the most frequent targets for international smuggling. The little-known pangolin, for example, is a rare, scale-covered mammal about the size of a cat that has become heavily poached because its fetuses are believed by some to be an aphrodisiac.
A previous bill proposed to eliminate ivory and rhino-horn trafficking in Washington was opposed by the National Rifle Association, knife dealers, antique collectors and the Seattle Symphony, who argued it was too broad. To ensure acceptance of the new measure, museums, certain antiques and musical instruments, and sales from estates are exempt in I-1410.
So, although none of these endangered animals live (outside captivity) in Washington, they require protection by the state. As one of those endorsing the measure, Sam Wasser, Director of University of Washington’s Center For Conservation Biology observed
The illegal wildlife trade has become the world’s fourth or fifth largest transnational organized crime.The illegal ivory trade alone is worth $3 billion dollars annually. I-1401 is not just about stopping the illegal trade in Washington. It is about sending the right message to the rest of the country, and to the world, that this is a serious crime.