Target: Pam Bondi, Attorney General of the United States, Washington, D.C.
Goal: Pursue maximum criminal penalties against individuals and companies driving habitat loss and wildlife harm, including illegal logging, trafficking, and marine mammal violations, to help safeguard vulnerable species.
For countless wild beings, home vanishes tree by tree and ice floe by ice floe. Conservation assessors warn that Arctic seals face escalating peril as sea ice retreats, while more than half of global bird species decline under relentless pressure from deforestation and intensified agriculture. Behind many shattered nests and silenced rookeries sit crimes, not just calamity. Illegal timber syndicates mow down tropical canopies. Traffickers plunder protected life. Polluters and bad actors flout marine-mammal safeguards. When lawbreakers meet light fines or no jail, cruelty and ruin keep paying.
Detailed accounts highlight hotspots where forests fall and breeding grounds shrink. In tropical belts, birds that once filled dawn air with calls now dwindle as chainsaws and fires chew edges of intact habitat, often tied to illicit harvest and front-company laundering. At sea and along remote coasts, marine mammals suffer when perpetrators harass, maim, or kill them, or when unlawful operations foul waters that calves and pups need. Meanwhile, a proven counterexample offers hope. Where strong statutes were enforced for sea turtles, populations rebounded over years, showing that bold cases, strict penalties, and vigilant monitoring can work.
Justice must close profit windows for those who allegedly devastate habitat or abuse protected species. Prosecutors can push for felony charges when warranted, seek restitution that funds restoration, press for forfeiture of tools and proceeds, and pursue lifetime wildlife-ownership bans for repeat offenders. Clear consequences deter the next bulldozer at a nesting tree and the next illicit net near a nursery bay. That change begins with urgent, visible, tough enforcement.
PETITION LETTER:
Attorney General Bondi,
Wildlife faces a crisis that blends disaster with alleged criminality. Conservation assessments report Arctic seals under intensifying threat as sea ice recedes and document global bird declines linked to deforestation and land-conversion. Within those broader forces, unlawful acts reportedly accelerate loss. Illegal logging networks allegedly launder timber into supply chains. Traffickers reputedly target protected species. Marine mammal protections are ignored by bad actors who harass or harm animals in fragile nurseries.
We urge you to direct U.S. Attorneys and the Environment and Natural Resources Division to prioritize cases that strike at these drivers. Please pursue Lacey Act, Migratory Bird Treaty Act, Marine Mammal Protection Act, and related charges where evidence supports them, seek maximum sentences, and request restitution dedicated to habitat restoration and wildlife care. For repeat or organized offenders, seek asset forfeiture, debarment from federal contracts, and long-term bans on wildlife possession or trade involvement.
We also ask that DOJ coordinate closely with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and NOAA to fast-track referrals, target high-impact corridors in import hubs, and publish regular enforcement updates that show progress. Visible, consistent prosecution will deter those who profit from destruction and help keep vulnerable animals alive. Please make these cases a clear priority now.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo Credit: Brian Gratwicke
