BREAKING NEWS
By WAN –
April 4, 2018

A federal court in Arizona has ordered the Trump administration to release public records about how much wildlife is being imported into the United States, including live animals for the pet trade and dead animals destined for clothing and biomedical research.
The court found that the data, which includes the species’ names, quantity imported, and importing and exporting companies’ names, must be disclosed under the Freedom of Information Act.
As per the government’s website, “The basic function of the Freedom of Information Act is to ensure informed citizens, vital to the functioning of a democratic society.”
The ruling stems from a 2016 FOIA request filed by the Center for Biological Diversity, followed by litigation after the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service refused to provide all the data.
“The United States is a huge hub for the wildlife trade, including trade in imperiled…