History Of The Lacey Act

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The first noticeable step towards conserving the natural resources and wildlife in the United States started with the Lacey Act. The Lacey Act was started by Senator John Lacey in 1900 to stop the drastic drop in the number of animals and decrease in natural resources in the United States. Lacey’s act made it illegal to kill animals for sport and sell them elsewhere to escape from the law also known as market hunters. Thankfully an end was put to them. The Lacey Act is the oldest wildlife protection law in the United States and the prominence does not stop there. Multiple amendments have been made to the Lacey Act over the years to help preserve plants and wildlife. Since then, numerous species have been saved and the conservation of our natural …show more content…

The Lacey Act was signed by President William McKinley on May 25, 2017. Originally the Lacey Act was created in the sole purpose to stop hunters from killing for game rather than survival and it was the first step towards conservation of wildlife. The act was proposed by Iowa senator, John Lacey. In 1902, Lacey joined a conservation of wildlife club called the Boone and Crockett Club, who was founded by Theodore Roosevelt. Lacey, a significant figure in the start of the conservation movement, was committed on preserving wildlife and plants. The act he proposed disallowed the killing of an animal in one state to turn around and sell it in another. Of course, the hunting they were doing was done illegally, but the Lacey Act stopped the sellers from driving through different states to escape from the law. Each state had their own laws on ways to conserve plants and wildlife but none were as effective as the Lacey Act. According to Larkin the Lacey Act “was meant to assist the states in enforcing their own laws against poachers…While states could enforce their own laws within their own borders, they were effectively powerless to address the interstate market” (Larkin, 2012). Overall, what the market hunters were doing was very damaging and unhealthy. Luckily John Lacey came up with a brilliant idea called the Lacey Act. The act made it seem like it wasn’t taking away their rights and freedom but limited them. That limit made it very difficult to kill and sell feathers, furs and meat without getting in trouble with the law. “The Lacey Act all around touches on a broad range of issues like conservation, fighting crime, and public health (Gilbert, 2015). However, the damaged from the market hunters didn’t stop at the massive decline in animals from killing them. The damage continued with the decline in trees, plants and accessible fresh water causing a more rapid

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