SECTION 1.
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:(a) Since 1962, the State of Louisiana has proactively protected wild alligators as a precious natural resource and prohibited the hunting of all alligators. In 1973, and through the efforts of the State of Louisiana, the alligator was protected under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA). In 1987, the federal ESA removed alligators as an endangered species. Since 1967, the wild alligator population in Louisiana alone has grown from 100,000 to more than 1.5 million. Crocodilian populations are now at historic highs, as female crocodilians remain reproductive for up to 46 years past the
onset of sexual maturity.
(b) A global body of public policy to protect wild alligators and crocodiles has culminated in the development of sustainable farming practices for the species within 184 countries and coordinated by the United Nations under the international Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) treaty. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service agency has specifically trained experts on CITES-protected species and enforcement of federal law at ports of entry to protect against any unauthorized animal products from entering into the United States.
(c) The State of Louisiana’s efforts in support of alligator conservation is now lauded by CITES
officials and others globally as a highly successful model to be followed for protecting other species. Eighty percent of Louisiana’s alligator habitat is privately owned and the privately held habitats cumulatively total more than 2 million acres. The economic viability of sustainable farming of alligators and crocodiles directly creates economic incentives to preserve private habitat areas and to protect against land development that would jeopardize these natural habitats.
(d) Protecting the survival of other species of animals from predatory alligators requires diligent monitoring of populations and wild habitat areas by state fish and game officials in collaboration with sustainable farming interests. The symbiotic relationship between sustainable farming practices and habitat preservation efforts has resulted in a more than 600 percent increase
in the survival rates of wild alligators.
(e) Research into the resilient immune systems of alligators and crocodiles has led to the development of a new source of an array of life-saving and quality-of-life-improving medicines for humans and agricultural applications vbc . applications. These new medicines serve to defend against drug-resistant strains of serious viruses and bacteria, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), staph infections, serious sexually transmitted diseases, osteoarthritis, E. coli, meningitis, salmonella, West Nile virus, and pneumonia.
(f) Shortly after receiving
federal protection, California law was changed to prohibit commercially available alligator products at a later date. The date on which the sale of crocodile products would be prohibited has been extended three times, and is currently January 1, 2020.
(g) Conservationists, biologists, and numerous state departments of fish and wildlife now express grave concern over California’s impending ban on the commercial availability of alligator and crocodile products. Each time the date of California’s ban approaches, there is substantial economic disruption of international trade and commerce, of consumer choice, and market balance.
(h) Additionally, California’s ban on commercial availability
of alligator and crocodile products would impede the ability of seriously ill patients from receiving life-saving medicines, especially in at-risk communities.
(i) In light of the extensive conservation successes and sustainable global farming practices, and in consideration of the life-saving medicines that are derived from alligator and crocodile immune systems, it is wholly appropriate that the impending ban on the commercial availability of alligator and crocodile products be delayed.