Endangered Animal Laws

Man's desire to make rapid advancements has endangered animals. Encroachments on the forest areas have caused a habitat loss, and made the animals endangered. To protect the endangered animals from becoming extinct, several endangered animal laws have been devised. Here, are some important endangered animal laws:

• The Lacey Act: This Act was made into a law in 1900, and is one of the first American laws to be devised to safeguard wildlife. It prohibited any illegal trade of animals. Moreover, it took steps to check the trade of feathers, which was in great demand in Europe during those days for the popular feather-hats. But, due to weak enforcement of this legislation, it could not produce effective results.

• The Endangered Species Act (ESA): ESA was enacted in 1973 for the protection and conservation of ecosystem of the endangered animals. This Act also ensured to provide funds to the state organizations safeguarding endangered animals.

• The Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA): MMPA was passed by the US Congress in 1972. This Act ensures the protection of marine mammals, such as dolphins, whales, and sea-lions. It also completely restricted any importation of marine mammal products into America. However, this Act had to be amended in 1994 to consider the cause of the natives of Alaska, who subsists by hunting Whales.

• The Wild Bird Conservation Act (WBCA): WBCA was enforced in 1992 as an attempt to safeguard and conserve the endangered bird species. Looking into the causes of the endangered bird species, this Act enforced stricter regulations and better standards of breeding environment for the birds.

• The Antarctic Conservation Act (ACA): ACA was devised in 1978 to conserve the flora and fauna of Antarctica. This Act has a similarity to MMPA, but its application is restricted to the wildlife in the Antarctic region. This law has laid down some guidelines to be followed, and has marked certain areas in the Antarctic region as wildlife preserves. Violation of these guidelines will lead to imprisonment up to one year, and a fine of $ 25,000.

• Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act: Eagle is a national symbol of freedom in America. But, their exploitation on a large-scale has made them a rare sight. To check this malpractice, a law was enacted in 1940, known as Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act. It has made completely illegal to trade in bald and golden eagles, and prohibits any kind of exchange of their parts, which includes nests or eggs.

• African Elephant Conservation Act: This Act has been devised to benefit the conservation of African elephants. African elephants are one of the most endangered animals in the world. To conserve the African elephants, it has constituted an African Elephant Conservation Fund, which provides assistance to the African nations. Moreover, it has placed a regulation on the import of raw and carved ivory products from the African nations.

Recently, Bangladesh has enacted a law which can lead up to imprisonment of 12 years, if found guilty of intentionally killing tigers and other animals endangered in the region. Therefore, the endangered animal laws given above can be better utilized by becoming an informed person.