The Policy Scavenger Hunt was great in helping me get on the right track of the AP paper. Since the AP focused on policies that could help with the issue I chose to focus on, this exercise helped me gather many possible policies that I could discuss. It contained such a wide variety of policies, from non-profit groups to legislation, that I was be able to find a lot of relevant information for my paper. If one policy did not offer much information, I was able to exclude it and focus on the other ones. This guided me in my arguments and claims, but also my counterarguments because when one policy didn't offer enough information on its ability to help with the issue, I was able to analyze it and use it to argue that another policy, my chosen policy, was better.

1.     Key Search Terms:

·       animal, wildlife, attractions, tourism, advocacy, groups, policies

2.     Non-profit Advocacy Group

·       World Animal Protection

-        Primary mission is to protect animals and end animal suffering which helps save animals from being exploited cruelly for tourism in third world countries by influencing decision maker to put animals on the global agenda

-        Works with United Nations bodies, like the UN Environment Programme and the UN Office for Disaster Relief, to help create policies and help governments see how protecting animals would benefit their economy, environment, food production, and social stability

3.     Think Tanks

·       I couldn’t find any reports from RAND Corporation relevant to my topic

·       International Institute for Environmental and Development

-        Focuses on environmental and development issues and advocates for environmental conservation and sustainability

-        “Tackling the illegal wildlife trade through community-based approaches: building evidence on what works” by Francesca Booker (researcher on biodiversity at IIED) and Dilys Rose (principle researcher in IIED’s Natural Resources research group), published on January 20, 2017

-        Initiatives/policies: strengthening disincentives for illegal behavior, increasing incentives for wildlife stewardship, decreasing costs of living with wildlife, supporting nonwildlife related livelihoods

·       Wilson Center

-        the nation’s key non-partisan policy forum for tackling global issues through independent research and open dialogue to inform actionable ideas for the policy community; at the Wilson Center, preeminent scholars and experts research topics of national and international relevance. In the spirit of President Wilson, we build a bridge between the worlds of academia and public policy, to inform and develop solutions to the nation’s problems and challenges. Democracy is built on the notion of an informed and active citizenry. The Wilson Center provides the fuel that makes this possible…knowledge in the public interest; a place that has a strong culture of social, moral, and intellectual support

-        “Closing Elephant-Sized Loopholes in the Illegal Wildlife Trade: CITES CoP17 and the Path Forward” (October 18, 2016)

-        Initiatives/policy: increasing protection for all eight species of pangolins, the most trafficked mammal in the world; address countries’ domestic policy loopholes; decisions to close all domestic markets in elephant ivory, or enforce a phase out of commercial tiger “farms”

4.     The New York Times

-        “Lion Population in Africa Likely to Fall by Half, Study Finds” (October 26, 2015)

-        Author: Erica Goode (regular opinion columnist)

-        Proposed to list animals as threatened, offering it some protection under the Endangered Species Act; this would require a permit for the import of “trophies” by hunters

-        However, imports would only be limited to trophies “from countries with a scientifically sound management plan…”

5.     Federal Bills

·       H.R.226

·       Short Titles as Introduced: African Elephant Conservation and Legal Ivory Possession Act

·       Official Title as Introduced: To amend the African Elephant Conservation Act of 1988 to conserve elephants while appropriately regulating ivory in the United States, and for other purposes.

·       House of Representations

·       Sponsor: Don Young (Alaska – Republican)

·       No cosponsors

·       What the policy does:

-        Ivory may be imported or exported under the AECA and the Endangered Species Act of 1973 if: (1) the raw ivory or worked ivory is solely for a museum; (2) the raw ivory or worked ivory was lawfully importable into the United States on February 24, 2014, regardless of when it was acquired; or (3) the worked ivory was previously lawfully possessed in the United States.

-        The Department of the Interior may station one U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service law enforcement officer in the primary U.S. diplomatic or consular post in each African country that has significant population of African elephants to assist local wildlife rangers in protecting the elephants and facilitating the apprehension of individuals who illegally kill them or assist in killing them.

-        The President may embargo any products from a country if it is a significant transit or destination point for illegal ivory trade.

-        This bill authorizes: (1) commerce in African elephant ivory or in products containing African elephant ivory that have been lawfully imported or crafted in the United States; and (2) the importation of a sport-hunted African elephant trophy if the trophy was taken from certain elephants populations that at the time were not necessarily threatened with extinction, but may have become so unless trade was closely controlled.

6.     California Legislation

·       Senate Bill No. 290

-        Marine mammals and sea turtles: entanglement and stranding

-        Senator Jackson: Senate District 19 (Democrat)

-        This bill would, upon appropriation of moneys by the Legislature, require the director to establish a network of rescue and rehabilitation stations for marine mammals and sea turtles impacted by entanglement or stranding, as prescribed. The bill would authorize the director to enter into agreements with nonprofit organizations to establish and equip entanglement and stranding wildlife rescue and rehabilitation stations and to ensure that they are operated in a professional manner in keeping with the pertinent guidance documents issued by the director

·       Assembly Bill No. 2305

-        Protection of orcas: unlawful activities

-        Assembly member Bloom (District 50 – Democrat)

-        This bill would make it unlawful to hold in captivity an orca, whether wild-caught or captive-bred, for any purpose, including for display, performance, or entertainment purposes; to breed or impregnate an orca held in captivity; to export, collect, or import the semen, other gametes, or embryos of an orca held in captivity for the purpose of artificial insemination; or to export, transport, move, or sell an orca located in the state to another state or country, except as provided.

-        The bill would provide that a person, corporation, or institution that intentionally or negligently violates these provisions is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not to exceed $100,000. By creating a new crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program

7.     No specific local policies relevant to the issue of wildlife tourism. However, there was a legislation that passed by the National Legislative Assembly in Thailand that imposes punishment on people who neglect, torture, or fail to adequately take care of animals. The goals of the new laws are to make animal owners more conscientious of their responsibilities to provide proper care for their animals. The legislation seeks to impose harsh punishments on animal rights violators, with a 2-year jail term, and fine of up to Bt40,000, or both. It defines cruelty as any action which causes an animal to suffer physical or mental torture, pain, illness, disablement or death, including using a disabled, ill, aged, or pregnant animal for labor or show work, and prohibits such actions. Animals covered are domestic pets, and animals kept for food, work or entertainment purposes.