Each year, animal populations around the world are decreasing in extremely large quantities due to poaching. One animal species that suffers the most is the elephant. In 2018, World Wildlife Fund stated "In 2016, the IUCN reported that Africa’s elephant population had seen its worst decline in 25 years, mostly as the result of intensified poaching for ivory" (WWF). Animals like elephants, rhinoceros, giraffes, sharks and exotic birds are all species that are constantly being poached, resulting in them being added to the endangered species list. Along with population, the surrounding ecosystem and the tourist industry in the areas where these animals are found are also strongly affected. Although there have been conservation acts and bans put in place, the lack of government enforcement of these acts and bans keeps the black market operating.

The Lacey Act of 1900 prohibits the selling and trading of poached animals and their products. If caught trading illegal animal products, poachers can be tried under the Lacey Act and if found guilty, could face fines up to $20,000 and jail time depending on the level of the charge. CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) created an international treaty in the 1960's that was meant to regulate the illegal wildlife trade (the black market). The CITES treaty is one that the countries present volunteered to enact, the U.S being one of them. The U.S Department of the Interior is the department that regulates and enforces the Lacey Act and the CITES treaty. As the Department of the Interior is working to stop the importation of illegal wildlife products, the rest of the government is working against them.

H.R.4171 was proposed in 2012 to essentially eliminate the Lacey Act. The bill was proposed to allow illegally collected animals and animal products to be imported into the U.S and to reduce the penalties towards people who violated the act. Likewise, President Trump proposed that in the 2020 budget, The Department of the Interiors budget was to be decreased by 14%. The Department of the Interior budget decrease will result in a relative decrease in the amount of enforcement of the Lacey Act, The CITES treaty and if H.R4171 passes, the poaching market in the U.S would be completely open and with practically nonexistent penalties. We must call for a change and to prohibit these propositions. The future of the animal kingdom is in our hands and we must protect it all costs.