[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 164 (Wednesday, November 4, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1585]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





                        GLOBAL ANTI-POACHING ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                          HON. BETTY McCOLLUM

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, November 2, 2015

  Ms. McCOLLUM. Mr. Speaker, illegal poaching has hit a crisis point 
for many of the world's most iconic species. Nearly 100 elephants are 
being slaughtered each day by ivory poachers. The black market sale of 
rhino horn and trafficking in infant gorillas is driving these species 
to the brink of extinction. H.R. 2494, the Global Anti-Poaching Act, 
takes critical steps to strengthen the punishments for poaching and 
wildlife tracking.
  The United States is a leader in the fight to protect endangered and 
threatened species around the world, and this legislation continues 
that legacy. This bill will ensure that the full strength of the U.S. 
criminal justice system can be brought to bear against those who seek 
to kill, trade, or otherwise profit from the furs, pelts, skins, or 
other body parts of protected species. The profits from this illegal 
trade are often used to fund terrorist or criminal activities, making 
the tougher enforcements in this bill an issue of national security as 
well.
  Additionally, this bill creates important partnerships with nations 
around the world to lend our country's expertise in countering wildlife 
trafficking to local law enforcement officials on the ground. By 
engaging partners across national boundaries, coordinating resources, 
and sharing intelligence, this legislation would make anti-poaching 
efforts around the world more efficient and more effective.
  Poaching is a big business in the criminal world that threatens 
species across the globe. This legislation steps up America's efforts 
to ensure the protection of endangered species and crack down on this 
black market industry. I thank Mr. Royce, as the author of this bill 
and our founding co-chair on the International Conservation Caucus, for 
his leadership on this issue, and I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 
2494.

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