Sponsors (8)
The bill strengthens protections for threatened species and clarifies enforcement authorities to reduce trophy-driven poaching, but it does so at the expense of hunting-related income, some collectors/businesses, and with higher enforcement and regulatory costs.
Rural and Indigenous communities and at-risk wildlife: banning or restricting trophy imports and domestic trophy-taking will lower demand that drives poaching and improve conservation and genetic diversity for threatened species.
State and federal enforcement: a clearer statutory definition of 'trophy' reduces legal ambiguity and should make permit decisions and enforcement actions more straightforward.
State governments and law enforcement: clarifying that legal wildlife trade can mask illegal markets supports stronger enforcement against criminal networks trafficking wildlife, narcotics, and weapons.
Rural communities, hunters, and outfitters: restrictions and bans on importing or selling trophies of threatened species will reduce income for hunting-dependent businesses and individuals.
Collectors, some businesses, and taxpayers: narrowing the antiques exemption may bar imports that previously qualified, disrupting collectors/businesses and potentially shifting costs to taxpayers.
Federal and state agencies, permit applicants, and taxpayers: tighter trade and import prohibitions will increase regulatory and enforcement burdens and likely require additional agency resources and funding.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Makes it illegal to take or import hunting 'trophies' of species listed as threatened under the ESA, bans permits for such trophies, and defines "trophy."
Introduced March 6, 2025 by Ted Lieu · Last progress March 6, 2025
Prohibits taking or importing hunting “trophies” of any species that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service lists as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. It bars issuance of permits that would authorize taking or importing such trophies, narrows the antiques exception so it cannot be used to bring in threatened-species trophies, and adds a legal definition of “trophy.” The change extends stronger trade and take protections to species classified as threatened, aligning some of their protections with those already applied to endangered species.