Wildlife Agency Must Release Names of Elephant Part Importers

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service must share the names of those who sought to import elephant parts into the country because the public interest outweighs the privacy interests of the importers, a divided Tenth Circuit ruled.

Friends of Animals sued after the Fish and Wildlife Service withheld the names of individuals who filled out declarations to import African elephant and giraffe parts in its response to the group’s request for information.

The U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado ruled in April 2020 that those names were exempt from disclosure. But the lower court overemphasized the risks from ...