Source: https://www.animallaw.info/administrative/us-wildlife-disposal-forfeited-or-abandoned-property
Timestamp: 2019-04-24 18:26:58+00:00

Document:
The Service proposes regulations to dispose of property forfeited or abandoned to the United States under the provisions of 50 CFR Part 12. This property, which includes wildlife, plants, vehicles, vessels, aircraft, cargo, guns, nets, traps, and other equipment, would be separated into two types for disposal. All property, except wildlife and plants, would be disposed of under existing Service procedures, which are based on current Federal Property Management Regulations and Interior Property Management Regulations. Wildlife and plants, however, would be disposed of at the discretion of the Director by one of the following means: return to the wild, use by the Service or transfer to another government agency for official use, donation or loan, sale, or destruction.
This action would enable the Service to insure that wildlife and plants are disposed of in accordance with the conservation aims of the statute under which they were obtained while establishing an orderly, cost efficient disposal procedure. This procedure is needed both to eliminate unnecessary expense and overcrowding at government storage facilities and to provide a uniform means of satisfying the variety of possible uses of wildlife and plants which are ready for disposal.
SUMMARY: The Service proposes regulations to dispose of property forfeited or abandoned to the United States under the provisions of 50 CFR Part 12. This property, which includes wildlife, plants, vehicles, vessels, aircraft, cargo, guns, nets, traps, and other equipment, would be separated into two types for disposal. All property, except wildlife and plants, would be disposed of under existing Service procedures, which are based on current Federal Property Management Regulations and Interior Property Management Regulations. Wildlife and plants, however, would be disposed of at the discretion of the Director by one of the following means: return to the wild, use by the Service or transfer to another government agency for official use, donation or loan, sale, or destruction.
DATE: Comments on this proposed rule must be received by October 21, 1981.
ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to Director (LE), Fish and Wildlife Service, P.O. Box 28006, Washington, D.C. 20005, or delivered weekdays to the Division of Law Enforcement, Fish and Wildlife Service, 3rd Floor, 1375 K Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. between 7:45 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. Comments should bear the identifying notation REG 12-02-3. All materials received may also be inspected weekdays during normal business hours at the Service's Division of Law Enforcement, 3rd Floor, 1375 K Street, N.W., Washington, D.C.
John T. Webb, Branch of Investigations, Division of Law Enforcement, Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, P.O. Box 28006, Washington, D.C. 20005, telephone: (202) 343-9242.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is responsible for enforcing a number of wildlife or plant protection laws. Generally, these laws provide for the forfeiture of wildlife, plants, or other property which is involved in a violation. For example, the Endangered Species Act of 1973 authorizes the forfeiture of unlawfully imported endangered wildlife, wildlife products, and plants ( 16 U.S.C. 1504(e)(4)(A)). In addition, some of the laws provide for the forfeiture of guns and equipment used in committing a violation (e.g., the Eagle Protection Act, 16 U.S.C. 668(b)) or for the forfeiture of the cargo of any vessel involved in taking wildlife illegally (e.g., the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, 16 U.S.C. 1376(a)).
Wildlife parts, wildlife products, and plants forfeited under these laws have for the most part been stored at Service facilities throughout the Unites States. Until 1978, there was a patchwork of statutory authority providing for the disposition of forfeited property, usually requiring disposal under the excess and surplus property statutes administered by the General Services Administration (GSA). Property management regulations issued by GSA and the Department were the only rules regarding the methods of disposal. Because most of the property held by the Service was wildlife, almost all of the provisions of both the Federal Property Management Regulations (41 CFR Chapter 101) and Interior Property Management Regulations (41 CFR Chapter 114) were inappropriate for use by the Service. These provisions would have compelled the Service to transfer property to GSA for sale or to allocate property in excess of the Service's needs to other agencies where such action may have been in conflict with existing Service policy.
(c) Disposal of Abandoned or Forfeited Property. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, all fish, wildlife, plants, or any other items abandoned or forfeited to the United States under any laws administered by the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Commerce relating to fish, wildlife, or plants, shall be disposed of by either Secretary in such a manner as he deems appropriate (including, but not limited to, loan, gift, sale or destruction).
The FWIA provides the Service with the authority and flexibility to dispose of forfeited or abandoned property, which now totals several million dollars, without following any existing GSA procedures or being restricted by limitations found in the statute under which the property was seized.
Three additional terms would be defined: abandonment, disposal, and forfeiture. These definitions provide a demarcation between seizure and disposal which should remove any uncertainty as to when the Service should begin disposal.
Two types of property are identified in § 12.33 and a disposal procedure is set out for each. One type includes all forfeited or abandoned property, except wildlife and plants, which would be disposed of in accordance with current Federal Property Management Regulations (41 CFR Chapter 101) and Interior Property Management Regulations (41 CFR Chapter 114). Wildlife and plants, the other type, would be disposed of by the Director by one of the following means: return to the wild, use by the Service or transfer to another government agency for official use, donation or loan, sale, or destruction.
Each of the methods of disposing of wildlife and plants is discussed in more detail below. One premise underlies these methods which is stated in § 12.32. The effect of any prior illegality on the subsequent use of wildlife or plants is terminated once they are forfeited or abandoned to the U.S. Prohibitions which rely upon a prior unlawful act, such as the Endangered Species Act's prohibition on the possession of unlawfully taken endangered species, would not apply. Therefore, for example, wildlife that was seized and forfeited or abandoned because it was unlawfully taken would not be subject to prohibitions based on that fact alone (i.e., unlawful taking) upon disposal. Simply, forfeiture or abandonment eliminates the taint of any prior illegality.
Upon disposal, however, prohibitions, restrictions, conditions, or requirements imposed by law which apply to a particular species of wildlife or plant would remain in effect.
The order in which the disposal methods appear is the order the Service would follow generally in determining which method has priority. Return to the wild is the most favored and destruction, unless necessary, is the least favored. The other methods are not as sharply distinguished from each other.
1. Return to the wild (§ 12.34). Any live member of a native species of wildlife or plant would be returned to the wild if it is capable of surviving, unless it poses a threat to public health or safety if returned, in which case quarantine or destruction would be the only possible methods of disposal. Quarantine would have to be accomplished in conjunction with one of the other disposal methods identified, such as transfer to another government agency for official use. Any exotic species, a species not naturally occurring in the wild in the United States, would be available for return to the country of export (if known) in accordance with the requirements of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Article VIII.4(b) of CITES states in part that Where a living specimen is confiscated * * * the Management Authority [i.e., Service] shall, after consultation with the State of export, return the specimen to that State at the expense of that State * * *. The mechanism for returning wildlife or plants to the country of export is set out in § 12.35.
Executive Order 11987 (42 FR 26949) entitled Exotic Organisms also directs Executive agencies to restrict the introduction of exotic species into natural ecosystems of the United States.
2. Use by the Service or transfer to another government agency for official use (§ 12.35). Wildlife and plants would be used by the Service or other government agencies, including State and foreign agencies, for certain official purposes. This section describes those official uses. Items initially used by the Service for official purposes that are no longer of any use would be disposed of by one of the other methods. In addition to returning wildlife to the country of export for eventual return to the wild, the Service would be able to satisfy other obligations under CITES related to the return of confiscated specimens to the country of export, for purposes such as the enhancement of propagation or survival, or other scientific, educational, enforcement, or identification purposes.
3. Donation or loan (§ 12.36). The Service would donate or loan wildlife and plants for noncommercial scientific, educational, or public display purposes to any person who demonstrates the ability to provide adequate care and security for the item. A transfer document would be executed between the Director and the donee/borrower, subject to a number of stated conditions. A distinction is drawn between donation and a loan to indicate that a donation involves the transfer of title.
4. Sale (§ 12.37). One of the purposes of the FWIA was to allow the Service to make its own determinations consistent with existing law and policy as to the appropriate method of disposal for a particular species of wildlife or plant, instead of following GSA procedures for the allocation or sale of forfeited or abandoned property. One possible method of disposal identified by the FWIA is sale.
Recently, the Acting Associate Solicitor, Conservation and Wildlife, in an opinion dated March 10, 1981, on the subject Disposal of Forfeited Endangered and Threatened Species Parts interpreted the FWIA as providing the Service with the authority to dispose of any forfeited material by sale, including endangered species products.
The Service's proposal attempts to reach a balance which Congress sought when providing the Service with disposal authority. The Service proposes to sell wildlife or plants which otherwise are lawfully traded by private individuals in interstate commerce, unless existing policy recommends another method of disposal. Therefore, any demand for a particular item also may be met by existing, lawful trade apart from sale by the Service. The Service would not be selling any species for which it would be the only source.
The Service proposes to prohibit disposal by sale of the following wildlife or plants: (1) migratory birds, (2) bald or golden eagles, and (3) CITES Appendix I specimens. Sale of migratory birds and bald or golden eagles would be prohibited because the Service believes that sale is inappropriate when possession and sale of these birds is highly regulated or prohibited by the Migratory Bird Treaty or Eagle Protection Acts in order to conserve them. Disposal of CITES Appendix I specimens was the subject of Resolution 3.14 entitled Disposal of Confiscated or Accumulated Specimens of Appendix I Species passed at the third meeting of the Conference of the Parties. That resolution recommended that Parties to the Convention dispose of Appendix I specimens without selling them. Other recommendations on the disposal of Appendix I specimens found in the resolution have generally been adopted in this proposal as well.
One category of wildlife would be disposed of by sale in very limited circumstances. Species of wildlife or plants listed as endangered or threatened in 50 CFR 17.11 under the ESA would only be sold if the species may be lawfully traded in interstate commerce. This provision would allow the sale of those few species whose entire population is not listed as endangered or threatened and certain threatened species when the species may be sold lawfully in interstate commerce.
By limiting the categories of wildlife and plants subject to sale, the Service believes that no pressure will be placed on those species which would be harmed by the Service's entry into the market. For those species not harmed by trade, where forfeiture or abandonment was obtained only as a deterrent, and where demand may be satisfied lawfully in interstate commerce, the Service believes that sale is proper.
5. Destruction (§ 12.38). Destruction is available only when no other method of disposal is appropriate. This eliminates costly storage of items not fit for any other means of disposal.
The Department of the Interior has determined that this is not a major rule under Executive Order 12291.
The Department has also certified that the rules will not have a significant economic effect on a substantial number of small entities under the Regulatory Flexibility Act and 43 CFR Part 14. These determinations are discussed in more detail in a Determinations of Effects which has been prepared by the Service. A copy of that document may be obtained by contacting the person identified above under the caption For Further Information Contact.
A draft environmental assessment has been prepared in conjunction with this proposal. It is on file in the Service's Division of Law Enforcement, 1375 K Street, N.W., Suite 300, Washington, D.C., and may be examined during regular business hours. Single copies also are available upon request by contacting the person identified above under the caption FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. Comments on the draft environmental assessment should be mailed or delivered to the address given at the beginning of this proposal during the comment period on the proposed rule.
The policy of the Department of the Interior is, whenever practicable, to afford the public an opportunity to participate in the rulemaking process. Interested persons are invited to submit written comments regarding the proposed rule or the draft environmental assessment. These comments and any additional information received will be considered by the Department in adopting a final rule. Correspondence should be mailed or delivered to the address given at the beginning of this proposal.
Authority: Act of September 6, 1966, 5 U.S.C. 301; Eagle Protection Act, 16 U.S.C. 668-668b; National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act, 16 U.S.C. 668dd(f); Migratory Bird Treaty Act, 16 U.S.C. 706-707, 712; Migratory Bird Hunting Stamp Act, 16 U.S.C. 718f; Airborne Hunting Act, 16 U.S.C. 742j-1(d)- (f); Black Bass Act, 16 U.S.C. 852d; Marine Mammal Protection Act, 16 U.S.C. 1375-1377, 1382; Endangered Species Act, 16 U.S.C. 1540; Lacey Act, 18 U.S.C. 43-44; Tariff Act of 1930, 19 U.S.C. 1602-1624; Fish and Wildlife Improvement Act of 1978, 16 U.S.C. 742l; Exotic Organisms, E.O. 11987, 42 FR 26949; American Indian Religious Freedom, 42 U.S.C. 1996.
12.32 Effect of prior illegality.
12.34 Return to the wild.
12.35 Use by the service or transfer to another government agency for official use.
Abandonment means a person's surrender of seized property to the Service by, but not limited to, refusing or otherwise avoiding delivery of mail concerning the seizure (as by giving a false name or address), failing for more than 180 days to make or maintain a claim to the property, failing to respond within 120 days of issuance of a notice from the Department concerning the seizure, unless the property is earlier forfeited, or quitclaiming to the United States any interest in the property.
Disposal includes, but is not limited to, remission, return to the wild, use by the Service or transfer to another government agency for official use, donation or loan, sale, or destruction.
Forfeiture means a person's surrender or relinquishment of any claim to seized property by written agreement, or extinguishment of any person's interest in, and transfer of title to seized property to the United States by court order or by order of the Secretary as authorized by law.
Upon forfeiture or abandonment of any property to the United States under this part the Director shall dispose of such property under the provisions of this Subpart D.
(a) A description of the item.
(b) The date and place of the item's seizure (if any) and forfeiture or abandonment.
(c) The investigative case file number with which the item was associated.
(d) The name of any person known to have or to have had an interest in the item.
(e) The date, place, and manner of the item's disposition.
(f) Name of the official responsible for the disposal.
(g) Domestic value of the property.
The effect of any prior illegality on a subsequent holder of any wildlife or plant disposed of or subject to disposal is terminated upon forfeiture or abandonment, but the prohibitions, restrictions, conditions, or requirements which apply to a particular species of wildlife or plant under the laws or regulations of the United States or any State, including any applicable health, quarantine, agricultural, or Customs law or regulations remain in effect as to the conduct of such holder.
In the exercise of the disposal authority, the Director generally must dispose of any wildlife or plant in the order in which the disposal methods appear in this paragraph (a) of this section.
(b) The Director shall dispose of any property, except wildlife or plants, forfeited or abandoned under the authority of this part, including vehicles, vessels, aircraft, cargo, guns, nets, traps, and other equipment in accordance with current Federal Property Management Regulations (41 CFR Chapter 101) and Interior Property Management Regulations (41 CFR Chapter 114), unless the item is earlier remitted, the subject of a petition for remission of forfeiture under § 122.24 of this part, or disposed of by court order.
(c)(3) Property, except perishable items or live wildlife or plants, may be disposed of in 60 days.
(a) Any live member of a native species of wildlife may be released to the wild in suitable habitat within the United States with the permission of the landowner if it is capable of surviving, unless release poses an imminent danger to public health or safety.
(b) Any live member of a native species of plant may be transplanted in suitable habitat on Federal or other protected lands within the United States with the permission of the appropriate State agency if it is capable of surviving.
(c) Any live member of an exotic species of wildlife (including injurious wildlife) or plant may not be returned to the wild in the U.S., but may be returned to the country of export (if known) after consultation with and the expense of the country of export in accordance with the provisions of § 12.35 of this part.
(a)(7) Return to the wild in accordance with § 12.34 of this part.
(b) Each transfer and the terms of the transfer must be documented.
(c) The agency receiving the wildlife or plants may be required to bear all costs of care, storage, and transportation in connection with the transfer.
(a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, wildlife and plants may be donated or loaned for noncommercial scientific, educational, or public display purposes to any person who demonstrates the ability to provide adequate care and security for the item.
(b)(5) The donee/borrower is not relieved from the prohibitions, restrictions, conditions, or requirements which may apply to a particular species of wildlife or plant imposed by the laws or regulations of the United States or any State, including any applicable health, quarantine, agricultural, or Customs laws or regulations.
(b)(11) Any loan remains the property of the United States, and the Director may demand its return at any time.
(c) Wildlife and plants may be donated to individual American Indians for the practice of traditional American Indian religions. Any donation of the parts of bald or golden eagles may only be made to individual American Indians authorized by permit issued in accordance with § 22.22 of this title to possess such items.
(d) Edible wildlife, fit for human consumption, may be donated to a non- profit, tax-exempt charitable organization for use as food, but not for barter or sale.
(a)(4) Listed in § 17.11 of this title as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1533), unless the species may be lawfully traded in interstate commerce.
(b) Wildlife and plants must be sold in accordance with current Federal Property Management Regulations (41 CFR Chapter 101) and Interior Property Management Regulations (41 CFR Chapter 114).
(c) Wildlife or plants which may not be possessed lawfully by purchasers under the laws of the State where held may be moved to a State where possession is lawful and may be sold.
(d) Wildlife or plants purchased at sale are subject to the prohibitions, restrictions, conditions, or requirements which apply to a particular species of wildlife or plant imposed by the laws or regulations of the United States or any State, including any applicable health, quarantine, agricultural, or Customs laws or regulations, except as provided by § 12.33 of this part.
(a) Wildlife or plants not otherwise disposed of must be destroyed.
(b) When wildlife or plants are destroyed, the fact, manner, and date of destruction and the type and quantity of wildlife or plants destroyed must be certified by the official actually destroying the items.

References: § 12
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