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Nonnative Wildlife Invasion Prevention Act (NWIPA)

Defenders supports H.R. 6311, the Nonnative Wildlife Invasion Prevention Act, which would bring much-needed regulation to the current wide-open system of allowing nonnative species to enter the United States without prior risk assessment.

Every year, thousands of nonnative wild animals are legally imported to the United States to supply the pet, aquarium, live food, live bait, and other industries. Some of these animals, once released, may become established and invasive in their new surroundings. Invasive species can carry severe consequences for native wildlife populations and ecosystems, can threaten human and wildlife health, and can cause extensive economic losses. Despite these negative impacts, the United States does not currently require that animal species being imported first be examined (or “screened”) for invasiveness.

In 2007, Defenders of Wildlife conducted an analysis of the legal trade in live animals into the United States, threats associated with this trade, and the current framework to prevent such threats. The final report revealed that 13% of the nonnative species we imported legally over a 5-year period were “potentially risky” to animal, human and ecosystem health. Acting now to prevent further imports of harmful nonnative species should be considered a conservation priority.

The NWIPA provides the Secretary of the Interior with the statutory authority and guidelines to design and implement a risk assessment process to evaluate nonnative wildlife species prior to import for their potential to cause the aforementioned negative impacts. The assessment would result in a list of approved and a list of unapproved nonnative wildlife species for import, based on the best available data on the potential risks of these species. The Secretary would also have the ability to place a harmful nonnative wildlife species on the unapproved list in the event of an emergency.

The risk assessment process applies to all imported animals, whether the species has been in trade in the past or not. It entails provisions to ensure individuals that their current ownership of pets, hobby fish, and so on is not threatened; to ensure businesses that the screening process will be fair and timely; and to ensure the public and stakeholders that the process will be science-based and fully transparent. Animals included on the unapproved list can be imported with a permit for educational, scientific research, or accredited zoological or aquarium display purposes. In addition, the Secretary would accept petitions to remove species from the unapproved list.

The Nonnative Wildlife Invasion Prevention Act was introduced in the House in June 2008 by Rep. Madeleine Bordallo (D-GU), Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D-HI), Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-FL), Rep. Dale Kildee (D-MI), Rep. Ron Kind (D-WI), Rep. Ron Klein (D-FL), and Rep. Betty McCollum (D-MN).

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