Conservation Force, Garden State Taxidermist Association, five individual hunters residing in New Jersey, and a taxidermist residing and working in New Jersey filed suit on Friday against the New Jersey Attorney General and the Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection, to compel an end to New Jersey's ban on the possession, import, export, transport, and processing of hunting trophies of the African "Big Four" (elephant, leopard, lion, and black and white rhinoceros). The plaintiffs allege that the ban is preempted by Section 6(f) of the Endangered Species Act and infringes their rights to import and subsequently possess Big Four hunting trophies as authorized by federal permits and regulations, the Endangered Species Act, and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

The trophy ban was first introduced by State Senator Ray Lesniak, a vocal animal rights advocate. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie initially vetoed the bill in May, but suggested revisions to the legislature which, if adopted, would allow Christie to sign the bill. Both houses adopted Christie's suggestions and passed the bill. Christie signed it into law on June 1.

Plaintiffs allege that incentives generated from licensed, regulated hunting in Southern and Eastern Africa are responsible for protecting most habitat, providing most operating revenue for range state wildlife departments, underwriting the three primary levels of anti-poaching, and contributing most of the benefits for rural people in marginalized areas. Chrissie Jackson, the corporate Secretary of Conservation Force stated, "licensed, regulated hunting of big game animals in Africa has provided a proven advantage to their recovery. The hunting countries generally have the largest populations of the Big Four, their prey base, and habitat. And the millions of dollars in conservation investment expended on-the-ground by Conservation Force comes from U.S. big game hunters in Africa for Big Four species."

Plaintiffs allege that the New Jersey ban on Big Four hunting trophies is void under the Endangered Species Act, which preempts any state law that prohibits what is authorized by the Act itself or by its implementing regulations. Plaintiffs also allege that permits issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service created federally protected rights and privileges for individual holders, and the New Jersey law improperly deprives the plaintiffs of their rights, in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1983.

Plaintiffs seek a preliminary injunction against enforcement of the law. They submitted evidence to demonstrate irreparable injury to the individual hunters' interests in possessing trophies legally acquired in licensed, regulated hunts and irreparable damage to the state's taxidermy industry from having a substantial part of their business declared illegal. Plaintiffs also demonstrated how the ban threatens Conservation Force's initiatives, its members' interests in protecting and recovering the Big Four, and the overall conservation systems of range states. The ban discourages New Jersey hunters from participating in safaris, thereby reducing the major source of sustainable funding for these species.

John J. Jackson, III, President of Conservation Force, stated: "The law is misguided. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service uses federal import permitting as a conservation tool. It only issues a permit when it finds the hunting 'enhances the survival' of the Big Four in Africa. New Jersey's ban robs the Big Four of this essential enhancement." Jackson warned this suit may be followed by another suit under the Endangered Species Act.

The suit is pending in the District of New Jersey. Plaintiffs are represented by Connell Foley LLP. For more information, contact John Jackson at (504) 837-1233 or jjj@conservationforce.org.