Are You Committing The Lacy Act?

©iStock/EcoPic

What is the Lacy Act?   

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.

And this guy – an Oregon man named Darren Drake – is in big trouble.  He has pleaded guilty in federal court to illegally importing and exporting hundreds of live scorpions from and to contacts in Germany without obtaining an import-export license from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Drake faces up to one year in prison, three years supervised release and a $100,000 fine when he's sentenced later this year.