Nevertheless, the purchasing power of consumers and the growing sophistication of modern commercial transportation routes still make endangered wildlife products easily available. As an international traveler, you can help save species when you avoid buying souvenirs made from endangered animals and plants. The regulations governing wildlife imports are complicated enough to make the consumer think twice before buying any wildlife overseas. Endangered Species Act prohibits the import and export of species listed as endangered and most species listed as threatened. Lacey Act- prohibits the import of animal species that have been taken, possessed, transported, or sold in violation of foreign law.
Many countries completely ban or strictly limit wildlife trade.
A comprehensive wildlife treaty signed by over 150 countries, including the United States, that regulates and, in many cases, prohibits imports and exports of wild animal and plant species that are threatened by trade. Marine Mammal Protection Act- prohibits the import of marine mammals and their parts and products. These species include whales, walruses, narwhals, seals, sea lions, sea otters, and polar bears. Wild Bird Conservation Act- regulates or prohibits the import of many exotic bird species. Guidelines To Follow Wildlife is sometimes illegally killed or collected in one country, smuggled into another, and then exported with false permits to a third, making its origins hard to trace.