Louisiana Attorney General issued the following announcement on Dec. 13.
Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry’s Office has a filed a federal lawsuit challenging a California Law that bans the importation and sale of alligator skins, meats, and other products derived from the reptile. The challenge was filed last night in the Eastern District of California on behalf of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, the Louisiana Landowners Association, and the Delacroix Corporation.
“California’s law is in direct conflict with Federal Law and court precedent,” said General Landry. “What’s more: California’s regulatory scheme threatens jobs that thousands of families rely upon and it jeopardizes very successful conservation efforts.”
“We are taking this legal action to protect the incomes of working families, preserve the management and preservation of a critical species, and uphold the rule of law,” added General Landry. “If the California ban is allowed to go into effect - it would destroy the alligator industry and its jobs in Louisiana, Texas, Florida, Georgia, and California.”
General Landry’s lawsuit notes that the alligator trade is supported by conservationists, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Department of the Interior, and Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species experts.
Original source can be found here.