SEATTLE — A new initiative effort supported by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen would make it a crime in Washington state to sell or trade elephant ivory, shark fins and other animal parts from several species.
Initiative 1401 would cover 10 species threatened with extinction in part due to poaching, The Seattle Times reported Sunday. Violators would face a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
On the list are elephants, rhinoceroses, tigers, lions, leopards, cheetahs, marine turtles, sharks, rays and pangolins, also known as scaly anteaters.
Museums would be exempt along with certain antiques, musical instruments, and sales from estates.
Allen, one of the world’s wealthiest men, has donated millions of dollars to conservation projects in Africa. During safaris, he’s been up close to some of the animals that would be protected under the initiative. He also owns tourist lodges in Botswana’s Okavango Delta.
“Through those experiences, he has created a very personal connection to the animals in those areas,” said Dune Ives, senior director for philanthropy for Allen’s real-estate company, Vulcan, and co-manager of the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation.
While federal law bans smuggling parts of many endangered species, initiative supporters say that without local penalties, the trade continues.
The extent of illegal trade in Washington is unknown, but supporters of the initiative say that data from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service show dozens of instances of illegal trade in ivory, sharks, alligators and other protected species.
The initiative effort comes after a proposal to go after ivory and rhino-horn trafficking in the state died in the Legislature.
The I-401 campaign needs to gather 246,372 signatures by July 2 in order to qualify for the November ballot.
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