THE LACEY ACT. 71 
THE LACEY ACT. 
31 Statutes at Large, pp. 187-189. 
Chap. 553. An Act to enlarge the powers of the Department of Agriculture, prohibit the transportation 
by interstate commerce of game killed in violation of local laws, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted hy the Senate and House of Representatives of the United. States of America 
in Congress assembled, That the duties and powers of the Department of Agriculture 
are hereby enlarged so as to include the preservation, distribution, introduction, and 
restoration of game birds and other wild birds. The Secretary of Agriculture is 
hereby authorized to adopt such measures as may be necessary to carry out the pur- 
poses of this Act and to purchase such game birds and other wild birds as may be 
required therefor, subject, however, to the laws of the various States and Territories. 
The object and purpose of this Act is to aid in the restoration of such birds in those 
parts of the United States adapted thereto where the same have become scarce or 
extinct, and also to regulate the introduction of American or foreign birds or animals 
in localities where they have not heretofore existed. 
The Secretary of Agriculture shall from time to time collect and publish useful 
information as to the propagation, uses, and preservation of such birds. 
And the Secretary of Agriculture shall make and publish all needful rules and 
regulations for carrying out the purposes of this Act, and shall expend for said pur- 
poses such sums as Congress may appropriate therefor. 
Sec. 2. That it shall be unlawful for any person or persons to import into the 
United States any foreign wild animal or bird except under special permit from the 
United States Department of Agriculture: Provided, That nothing in this section 
shall restrict the importation of natural history specimens for museums or scientific 
collections, or the importation of certain cage birds, such as domesticated canaries, 
parrots, or such other species as the Secretary of Agriculture may designate.^ 
The importation of the mongoose, the so-called "flying foxes" or fruit bats, the 
English sparrow, the starling, or such other birds or animals as the Secretary of 
Agriculture may from time to time declare injurious to the interest of agriculture or 
horticulture is hereby prohibited, and such species upon arrival at any of the ports 
of the United States shall be destroyed or returned at the expense of the owner. 
The Secretary of the Treasury is hereby authorized to make regulations for carrying 
into effect the provisions of this section.^ 
Sec. 3. That it shall be unlawful for any person or persons to deliver to any com- 
mon carrier, or for any common carrier to transj)ort from one State or Territory to 
another State or Territory, or from the District of Columbia or Alaska to any State 
or Territory, or from any State or Territory to the District of Columbia or Alaska, 
any foreign animals or birds the importation of which is prohibited, or the dead 
bodies or parts thereof of any wild animals or birds, where such animals or birds 
have been killed in violation of the laws of the State, Territory, or District in which 
the same were killed: Provided, That nothing herein shall prevent the transportation 
^On September 13, 1900, the Secretary of Agriculture (Circular No. 30, Biol. Surv. ) 
extended the list of species which may be imported without permits as follows: 
Mammals. — Anteaters, armadillos, bears, chimpanzees, elephants, hippopotamuses, 
hyenas, jaguars, kangaroos, leopards, lions, lynxes, manatees, monkeys, ocelots, 
orang-utans, panthers, raccoons, rhinoceroses, sea-lions, seals, sloths, tapirs, tigers, 
or wildcats. 
Birds. — Swans, wild doves, or wild pigeons of any kind. 
Reptiles. — Alligators, lizards, snakes, tortoises, or other reptiles. 
■^ See Circular No. 101, Division of Customs, issued June 28, 1900; for regulations 
of the Department of Agriculture see Circular No. 29, Biological Survey, issued July 
13, 1900. 
