Alert! Fish and Wildlife Service Pushes Out Significant Penalty Increases for Civil Non-Compliance

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) published a final rule on August 18, 2025, increasing civil penalties for violations of various animal and wildlife protection statutes implemented by the agency that potentially impact, for instance, global energy and chemical industries, e-commerce trade businesses, and construction companies, to name a few.

Federal agencies are required by the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act Improvements Act of 2015, (section 701 of Pub. L. 114-74), to publish annual updates to its civil penalties by January 15^th each year. However, while the new penalty amounts go into effect immediately, they apply to violations occurring on or after August 18, 2025.

Key statutes include the Endangered Species Act (ESA), the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), the Lacey Act, and the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (BGEPA).^[1]

For the complete list and information on FWS penalties see 50 CFR 11 (90 FR 40045). Highlighted below are new civil penalties for infractions of those statutes with the highest levels of FWS enforcement:

 

Statute	2025 Civil Penalties	2024 Civil Penalties
BGEPA[2]	$16,590                any violation	$16,170              any violation
ESA[3]	$65,653                knowing violation of § 1538 $31,513               other knowing violation $1,659                  any other violation	$63,991               knowing violation of § 1538 $30,715               other knowing violation $1,617                  any other violation
Lacey Act[4]	$33,181               violations of 16 USC § 3373(a)(1) $829                     violations of 16 USC § 373(a)(2)	$32,341               violations of 16 USC § 3373(a)(1) $808                     violations of 16 USC § 3373(a)(2)
MMPA[5]	$33,181                any violation	$32,341                any violation

 

FWS-regulated businesses and individuals should take note of these increases. While violations of the wildlife protection statutes enforced by FWS may not always result in a maximum penalty, these penalty amounts guide FWS enforcement personnel in determining which actions to pursue and, in some cases, whether to upgrade the matter to a criminal assessment.

The agency considers factors such as “the seriousness of the violation” or “the violator’s good faith efforts to comply.” As demonstrated above, penalties can substantially add up for continuing offenses that either go unnoticed by companies or involve large, consecutive shipments of goods containing wildlife products arriving from around the world, ranging from luxury leather products to popular cosmetics products.

However, with strong compliance programs in place, and active coordination with agency personnel, the FWS is often open to negotiation of any resulting fine assessment.^[6] Crowell will continue to monitor enforcement trends in this area of wildlife trade and protection laws.