Prohibits the possession and transport of certain animals and body parts thereof at airports and port facilities owned or operated by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey; includes the big five African species, species determined to be endangered by the commissioner of the department of environmental conservation, those that appear on the list of nongame species or appear on any federal list of endangered or threatened species, or has been proposed to be included on any such list.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A805
SPONSOR: Rosenthal L TITLE OF BILL:
An act prohibiting the possession and transport of certain animals and
body parts thereof at airports and port facilities owned or operated by
the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
PURPOSE:
This bill prohibits the possession and transport of certain animals and
body parts thereof at airports and port facilities owned or operated by
the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section one sets forth the definition section and creates a new section
of law that prohibits the importation of priority species into facili-
ties owned and/or operated by the Port Authority of New York and New
Jersey and subjects violators to criminal and financial sanctions.
Section two lays out the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
This new section of law would prevent the importation of certain animal
species into the state of New York and New Jersey. The world was gripped
by the brutal killing of Cecil, a rare African lion, in Zimbabwe in
early July 2015. Palmer, a hunting enthusiast who is accused of illegal-
ly killing Cecil, is just one example of how big-game hunting and poach-
ing disturb the balance of wildlife within their natural habitats.
Animals living on any kind of property in any country should have the
right to be protected from threats of death and abuse. Though New York
cannot prevent certain animals and big game hunting, we can help to
diminish the profit margin by making it illegal to transport big game
parts into New York and New Jersey.
This bill seeks to greatly reduce the trade and sale of a whole animal
or any part, product, egg, or offspring of such species, or the dead
body parts thereof in order to protect animals from abusive practices.
By preventing importation here, we deprive poachers and other big game
hunters of access to a robust market for the parts. This legislation
will create a disincentive for those who hunt with the goal of selling
in the United States.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2019-20: A.682 - Referred to Corporations, Authorities and Commissions;
S.438- Referred to Corporations, Authorities and Commissions
2017-18: A.5116 - Referred to Corporations, Authorities and Commissions;
S.120- Referred to Corporations, Authorities and Commissions
2015-16: A.8394 - Referred to Corporations, Authorities and Commissions;
S.6072 - Referred to Corporations, Authorities and Commissions
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
Undetermined.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This bill shall take effect upon the enactment into law by the state of
New Jersey of legislation having an identical effect with this act, but
if the state of New Jersey shall have already enacted such legislation,
then it shall take effect immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
805
2021-2022 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY(Prefiled)
January 6, 2021
___________
Introduced by M. of A. L. ROSENTHAL -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Corporations, Authorities and Commissions
AN ACT prohibiting the possession and transport of certain animals and
body parts thereof at airports and port facilities owned or operated
by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. a. As used in this section:
2 (1) "Big five African species" means the African elephant, Loxodonta
3 africana; African leopard, Panthera pardus; African lion, Panthera leo;
4 black rhinoceros, Diceros bicornis; and white rhinoceros, Ceratotherium
5 simum.
6 (2) "Priority species" means any species or subspecies of wildlife
7 that: appears on the list of wildlife determined to be endangered by the
8 commissioner of the department of environmental conservation pursuant to
9 6 NYCRR §182.5(a); appears on any federal list of endangered or threat-
10 ened species, or has been proposed to be included on any such list; or
11 is a big five African species. "Priority species" shall include the
12 whole animal or any part, product, egg, or offspring of such species, or
13 the dead body or parts thereof, excluding fossils, whether or not
14 included in a manufactured product or in a food product.
15 b. Notwithstanding the provisions of any other law to the contrary,
16 priority species shall not be imported, exported, shipped, received,
17 possessed, processed, sold, offered for sale, or transported by any
18 individual, firm, corporation, association, or partnership at any
19 airport or port facility owned or operated by the Port Authority of New
20 York and New Jersey.
21 c. Any Port Authority agent or Port Authority police officer shall
22 have authority to enforce the prohibition in subdivision b of this
23 section and, where necessary, to apply for and execute any warrant to
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00643-01-1
A. 805 2
1 search for and seize any priority species and any property or item used
2 in connection with a violation of subdivision b of this section.
3 d. Unless the activity is prohibited by federal law, the following
4 exceptions and defenses shall apply to the prohibition in subdivision b
5 of this section:
6 (1) the priority species was lawfully located or possessed within the
7 state of New York or the state of New Jersey prior to the effective date
8 of this act; or
9 (2) the priority species is to be made part of a temporary or perma-
10 nent collection at a museum or zoo, or similar educational or research
11 facility, provided that the priority species is not thereafter sold,
12 offered for sale, traded, bartered, or distributed to any private party.
13 e. (1) Any priority species and any property or item used in
14 connection with a violation of subdivision b of this section shall be
15 held pending criminal proceedings in any court of proper jurisdiction.
16 (2) A person who violates subdivision b of this section shall be guil-
17 ty of a class E felony and, notwithstanding the provisions of sections
18 70.00 and 80.00 of the penal law of the state of New York to the contra-
19 ry, shall be subject to imprisonment not to exceed 18 months and a fine
20 of up to $100,000.
21 (3) Upon conviction, or upon the entry of a judgment restraining a
22 person from any activity that is or would be in violation of subdivision
23 b of this section, any seized property shall be forfeited, and upon
24 forfeiture, disposed of in a manner consistent with the best interest of
25 the public as determined by the court.
26 (4) Any penalty imposed pursuant to this section shall be in addition
27 to any applicable penalty that may be imposed for a violation of article
28 11 of the environmental conservation law, 6 NYCRR Chapter 1, and any
29 other applicable law, rule or regulation to the contrary.
30 § 2. This act shall take effect upon the enactment into law by the
31 state of New Jersey of legislation having an identical effect with this
32 act, but if the state of New Jersey shall have already enacted such
33 legislation, then it shall take effect immediately; and provided that
34 the waterfront commission shall notify the legislative bill drafting
35 commission upon the occurrence of the enactment of the legislation
36 provided for in section one of this act in order that the commission may
37 maintain an accurate and timely effective data base of the official text
38 of laws of the state of New York in furtherance of effecting the
39 provisions of section 44 of the legislative law and section 70-b of the
40 public officers law.
