House Approves Bill to Target Wildlife Trafficking

‘The House has approved a bill that allows the State Department to offer financial rewards for information leading to the arrest or conviction of wildlife traffickers who target endangered elephants, rhinos, lions and other species.

The bill adds wildlife trafficking to the list of criminal activities such as terrorism that the State Department can target with rewards of up to $25 million to whistleblowers.’

Last week, the House green lit a bill that should dramatically decrease illegal wildlife trafficking in the United States. Elephants, rhinos, giraffes, lions and other animals are targeted by poachers who sell carcasses and body parts for up to tens of thousands of dollars apiece. The bill was approved on a voice vote and now goes to the Senate.

We will continue to update as this story progresses.