FWS, NOAA Should Improve Rewards for Information on Wildlife Trafficking, GAO Says
Agencies involved in wildlife trafficking enforcement should improve their use of rewards for tips that lead to fines or convictions, the Government Accountability Office said in a report issued May 8. The Fish and Wildlife Service and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration should improve their tracking of rewards and guidance on reward amounts for information on Lacey Act and Endangered Species Act violations, and better advertise to the public the availability of rewards, GAO said.
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FWS paid out a total of $184,500 in rewards from fiscal years 2007 through 2017, with NOAA awarding only $21,000 during the same period. For example, FWS paid a reward in 2010 to a source that provided information on the illegal trafficking of leopards from South Africa to the U.S. that would have otherwise gone undetected, the report said. Neither agency offered any awards in fiscal years 2016 and 2017. But neither agency was able to say with certainty the information provided to GAO was complete, given their insufficient tracking of reward amounts, the report said.
The agencies also could do a better job of making the public aware that rewards are available for reports of violations, GAO said. The FWS and NOAA websites do not advertise the availability of rewards, except on FWS’s Alaska division website, the report said. FWS officials said the rewards are meant to thank individuals who come forward on their own accord rather than incentivize people to come forward, and that they may not have the resources to follow up on more tips.
Both FWS and NOAA said they would consider making reward information publicly available, but did not commit to doing so. Unidentified stakeholders told GAO that the agencies should consider putting information on rewards where people are most likely to have information on illegal wildlife trafficking, such as at ports of entry. According to the report, in addition to the Endangered Species Act and Lacey Act, rewards are also available for information on violations of the Fish and Wildlife Improvement Act, African Elephant Conservation Act, Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act and the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.