Taxidermied Tiger Lawsuit: Legal Battle Continues Over Port Newark Seizure

A legal battle over a taxidermied tiger confiscated at the Port of Newark continued on Wednesday, when the New Jersey U.S. Attorney’s Office filed a civil asset forfeiture action against the animal’s owner.

Authorities are alleging that the full-mount, taxidermied female tiger was imported into the United States in violation of the Endangered Species Act and without a valid importation permit.

Wildlife inspectors had seized the deceased tiger at the Port of Newark in 2014 when its owner attempted to import it into the United States as part of a household move from France.

According to the complaint filed in Newark federal court:

For over 27 years, all species of tigers have been classified as endangered under U.S law and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

The importation or exportation of endangered species – alive or dead - is authorized only in exceptional circumstances, and requires an export permit from the originating country and an import permit from the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, one of the federal agencies responsible for enforcing the Endangered Species Act.

On Nov. 24, 2014, the tiger was included in a cargo shipment of household goods exported from the Port of Le Havre in France. The shipment arrived in the United States at the Port of Newark on or about Dec. 3, 2014.

The customs broker filed the USFWS declaration form required for the international shipment of wildlife to or from the United States and included a CITES certificate issued by the European Union. The CITES certificate, however, permitted the tiger to be transported only within the European Union and specifically stated that it was “not for use outside the European Community.”

Import and export permits for endangered species of wildlife can be obtained only if the CITES Scientific Authority of the importing country has made a determination that trade in this specimen will not be detrimental to the survival of the species and that the imported wildlife will not be used for commercial purposes. In the United States, the agency authorized to grant or deny a certificate authorizing the import of such wildlife is the USFWS’s Division of Management Authority.

The Endangered Species Act authorizes the USFWS to seize any specimen that is illegally imported or exported.

On Jan. 2, 2015, the USFWS formally refused the shipment of the tiger. A week later, the USFWS sent notice of the seizure and its intent to forfeit the tiger to its owner, who now resides in New York City.

On April 1, 2015, the owner filed a claim with the USFWS contesting the forfeiture. The filing of the claim triggered the government’s obligation to either release the property or bring the forfeiture action in court, where the owner may contest it.