If you’re a hunter or outfitter in Colorado, the Lacey Act is a piece of federal legislation you should be aware of. It punishes people who transport or sell illegally caught game across state lines (or from reservation or federal land).
The Lacey Act, introduced in 1900, is the United States’ oldest and most powerful federal wildlife protection law. It penalizes people who import, export, buy, sell, acquire, or transport illegally acquired plants, fish, and wildlife across state lines or bring them into the country from overseas. When it was first created, the Lacey Act was designed to stop poachers selling game in other states, but today it covers a wider range of situations.
Breaching the Act can have serious financial consequences. In 2012, Gibson Guitars, which manufactured musical instruments from smuggled Madagascar ebony and Indian rosewood, admitted breaching the Act and ended up paying a penalty of $300,000 and an additional $50,000 to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. In addition to being fined, some big game outfitters have served terms in jail for contravening the Lacey Act.