Exotic Pets Invade United States Ecosystems: Legislative Failure and a Proposed Solution

4. Id. (noting that "[s]ome invasive species may be 'stowaway' organisms that arrive here inside packing materials, or micro-critters that are dumped from ships' water tanks.But many plants and animals also enter the U.S. as part of the booming trade in exotic pets or food.");see also Charles Seabrook, Endangered Creatures for Sale: Illegal Animal Trade Reaps Billions Yearly, ATLANTA J.-CONST., Dec. 21, 2003, at Al ("Tens of thousands of endangered wild creatures from Brazil, Indonesia, Ghana and other countries are being [illegally] smuggled each year to black markets in the United States, Canada, Europe and Japan.Traffickers entice native people.., to capture coveted animals from rain forests and other wild habitats.")(alteration in original).5. See Lovgren, supra note 1. 6. Daniel P. Larson, Combating the Exotic Species Invasion: The Role ofTort Liability, 5 DuKE ENVTL.L. & POL 'Y F. 21, 34 (1995).7. Id.insects may be inside these crates. 8Third, exotic species are introduced through intentional importation of captive exotics that escape into the ecosystem. 9This includes exotic pets that humans transport into the country and release, or pets that escape from captivity. 10Focusing only on this subset of the third category, this Note discusses existing regulations and makes proposals regarding the legal pet-trade industry.This Note analyzes problems stemming from the exotic pet trade, and concludes with two alternative solutions.First, this Note examines examples of various types of non-native invasive species introduced as a product of the legal pet-trade industry.Second, this Note offers an overview of the pet-trade industry, including the various lobbying groups that support the industry.Third, this Note discusses existing federal regulation that the U.S. government could use to combat the effects of invasive exotic pets, specifically the Lacey Act, 1 the Endangered Species Act,' 2 Executive Order 13,112,13 and the National Invasive Species Act of 1996.14Fourth, this Note examines various state laws, including those of Florida and Indiana.Finally, this Note proposes two alternative solutions to existing federal and state legislation, and concludes that Congress should reform the Lacey Act to strictly regulate the importation of exotic species at both the national and local levels. I. INTRUSION OF THE EXOTIC PETSThe Burmese python, a native to Southeast Asia, is "poised to overrun Everglades National Park.' 15 Since the mid-1990s, park rangers have captured or killed sixty-eight pythons.1 6 A wildlife biologist at the Everglades National Park explained that he has "no doubt [there is] a breeding population of pythons in the Everglades," while noting that these snakes are being found as deep as fifteen miles into the park.' 7 According to the biologist, "[a]ll of the Burmese pythons .. .in the park are a product of international pet trade."' 8The United States allowed the importation of more than 144,000 Burmese pythons in the past five years, with hatchlings selling for as little as twenty dollars each.' 9 However, many pet dealers do not warn potential buyers as to how large certain exotic pets can become, 20 and the "once cute little baby snakes '2 can grow up to twenty feet long. 22

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