Illegal logging fueled by the "rosewood mafia"and mining in Madagascar's tropical rainforest is pushing the critically endangered lemur to the brink of extinction. Lemurs are being poached as food, and captured and sold in the exotic pet trade.
Although it may be illegal to import lemurs directly from Madagascar, breeders worldwide aquire them and breed them in captivity, creating a market for even more of them to be captured from the wild. Many lemurs born in captivity find their way to the United States and are kept as pets.
The Lacey Act of 1900 protects both plants and wildlife by creating civil and criminal penalties for a wide array of violations, and most notably prohibits trade in wildlife, fish, and plants that have been illegally taken, transported or sold.
We ask that the United States bans importing illegal rainforest wood, and ban lemurs as exotic pets and other animals native to Madagascar.
President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
comments (202) 456-1111
switchboard (202) 456-1414
fax (202) 456-2461
e-mail: http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact
Ken Salazar
Secretary of the Interior
U.S. Department of the Interior
1849 C Street, N.W. / Washington DC 20240
feedback@ios.doi.gov
Secretary_of_the_Interior@ios.doi.gov
Illegal logging fueled by the "rosewood mafia"and mining in Madagascar's tropical rainforest is pushing the critically endangered lemur to the brink of extinction. Lemurs are being poached as food, and captured and sold in the exotic pet trade.
Although it may be illegal to import lemurs directly from Madagascar, breeders worldwide aquire them and breed them in captivity, creating a market for even more of them to be captured from the wild. Many lemurs born in captivity find their way to the United States and are kept as pets.
The Lacey Act of 1900 protects both plants and wildlife by creating civil and criminal penalties for a wide array of violations, and most notably prohibits trade in wildlife, fish, and plants that have been illegally taken, transported or sold.
We ask that the United States bans importing illegal rainforest wood, and ban lemurs as exotic pets and other animals native to Madagascar.
