Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA, is informing the public of another phase of the Federal Government’s enforcement schedule.
The Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 amended the Lacey Act to provide, in part, that importers submit a declaration at the time of importation for certain plants and plant products.
Enforcement of the declaration requirement began on April 1, 2009, and products requiring a declaration are being phased-in.
The Lacey Act (16 U.S.C. 3371 et seq.), first enacted in 1900 and significantly amended in 1981, is the United States’ oldest wildlife protection statute. The Act combats trafficking in illegally taken wildlife, fish, or plants.
The Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008, effective May 22, 2008, amended the Lacey Act by expanding its protection to a broader range of plants and plant products (section 8204, Prevention of Illegal Logging Practices).
The Lacey Act also now makes it unlawful to make or submit any false record, account, or label for, or any false identification of, any plant.
In addition, section 3 of the Lacey Act, as amended, makes it unlawful, beginning December 15, 2008, to import certain plants, including plant products, without an import declaration.
Phase VII of the enforcement schedule, which would begin on December 1, 2024, is described in the notice.
APHIS will continue to provide the latest information regarding the Lacey Act at the following website, https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/planthealth/import-information/lacey-act
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