Prevention of Wildlife Trafficking

The bill adds species that appear in Appendix I to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES Appendix I) to the wildlife covered under Colorado's wildlife trafficking laws.

The bill establishes penalties for violating wildlife trafficking laws. A person who violates wildlife trafficking laws commits a class 1 misdemeanor; except that:

• If a person violates wildlife trafficking laws and the value of the wildlife involved is more than $1,000 but less than $10,000 the person commits a class 5 felony;
• If a person is convicted of trafficking wildlife and the wildlife involved is an endangered species or threatened species under Colorado law, the federal "Endangered Species Act of 1973", or a species that appears in CITES Appendix I, the person commits a class 4 felony; or
• If a person violates wildlife trafficking laws and the value of the wildlife involved is more than $10,000, the person commits a class 4 felony.

The bill grants the parks and wildlife commission in the department of natural resources authority to suspend wildlife licenses held by a person convicted of a violation of wildlife trafficking laws.

The bill clarifies that the division of parks and wildlife in the department of natural resources (division) has the authority to pursue a civil action against an individual to recover the possession or value of wildlife that was unlawfully taken and the minimum value that the division may recover for certain animals that are on the federal endangered and threatened species lists.

The bill requires the division of parks and wildlife in the department of natural resources to conduct investigations and surveys to collect information and data related to wildlife trafficking and determine appropriate conservation, management, and law enforcement measures based on those investigations and surveys. The bill requires the general assembly to appropriate the money required to implement the bill from the wildlife cash fund; except that money from the sale of hunting and fishing licenses in the wildlife cash fund must not be used for these purposes.

(Note: Italicized words indicate new material added to the original summary; dashes through words indicate deletions from the original summary.)

(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)