The US Herpetoculture Alliance is getting a lot of private inquiries with questions regarding the preliminary injunction that was entered by the Hon. Randolph Moss on May 19th in lawsuit captioned as United States Association of Reptile Keepers, Inc. v. The Honorable Sally Jewell et al., Civil Action 13-2007 (RDM).
The May 19, 2015 order by Judge Moss (the “Preliminary Injunction”) states in pertinent part that:
- Effective June 2, 2015, the US Fish and Wildlife Service (“FWS”) is enjoined (stopped) from enforcing the Final Rule promulgated March 10, 2015 (the “2015 Rule”), 80 Fed. Reg. 12,702 (March 10, 2015) against any Plaintiff or member of USARK as of April 8, 2015 with respect to transporting a reticulated python and/or green anaconda between any two States within the continental United States other than Texas and Florida, and
- with respect to transporting a reticulated python and/or green anaconda from either Texas or Florida to any State within the continental United States other than Texas and Florida.
- This injunction does not prohibit, among other things,
- enforcement activity targeting importation of any listed species from the March 10, 2015 Final Rule into the United States from a foreign nation;
- enforcement of any activity targeting any transportation of the Beni anaconda or DeSchauensee’s anaconda;
- enforcement activity predicated on a violation of the law of any State pursuant to 16 U.S.C. § 3372(a)(2);
- enforcement activity targeting transportation of any species between the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, or any territory or possession of the United States and any State within the continental United States.
Click this link for the full text of the Preliminary Injunction. Judge Moss also issued a Memorandum Opinion, which sets forth his legal reasoning. It is the Order that enjoins FWS, not the Memorandum Opinion.
Herp Alliance’s formal opinion on this matter is set forth below.
- Herp Alliance congratulates USARK on this significant milestone. While the case is not over, preliminary injunction is considered an “extraordinary remedy never awarded as of right. In each case, courts must balance the competing claims of injury and consider the effect of granting or withholding the requested relief, paying particular regard to the public consequences.” To be clear: this is a huge win for the Reptile Nation.
- The Preliminary Injunction applies to USARK members as of April 8, 2015. If you were not a formal member on that date, we recommend against claiming membership based on donation status. USARK will lose credibility (and may be committing fraud) if it now claims to have thousands of members who did not apply for membership between April 8, 2014 and April 8, 2015.
- The Lacey Act carries criminal penalties. Herp Alliance recommends against risking criminal penalties in order to take advantage of the preliminary injunction.
- USARK is not at fault for the limited scope of the preliminary injunction. Judge Moss is the ultimate arbiter of this lawsuit. USARK sought a blanket injunction against FWS in terms of enforcing the Final Rule. The fact that it was granted at all is a victory. The battle is not over.
- Support USARK now. The Humane Society of the United States and the Center for Biological Diversity have filed motions seeking to intervene as defendants on the side of FWS. There is a lot of legal runway ahead of us and USARK will need all the donations it can get for the battles ahead.
