Government Holds Back Wildlife Trade Data, Green Group Charges

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has failed in recent years to release critical information about plants and animals traded across U.S. borders, including rare and imperiled species, according to a lawsuit filed by the Center for Biological Diversity in federal court in Arizona.

“Each year, the United States allows the import of hundreds of millions of wildlife and plant specimens from around the world,” including “everything from python-skin boots, to aquarium fish and turtles destined for the pet trade, to corals,” hunting trophies, and scientific specimens, according to the complaint filed Wednesday at the U.S. District Court for the ...