CA Man Accused Of Killing Endangered Leopard

SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- A California man was indicted this week for allegedly killing an endangered leopard in South Africa then bringing the skull and skin to the U.S. as a hunting trophy, the U.S. Attorney's Office in San Francisco. Adam Thatcher Lawrence, 38, reportedly traveled to the Republic of South Africa in August 2011, where he hunted and killed a leopard.

Lawrence then allegedly transported the leopard’s skin and skull into the Republic of Mozambique in May 2012 and thereafter falsely claimed to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that he had hunted and killed the leopard in Mozambique in 2012, officials said.

Lawrence then allegedly applied for permit paperwork from Mozambique, South Africa, and the United States in order to import the leopard skin and skull into the United States; each document falsely stated that the leopard was killed in Mozambique. The indictment alleges that in April 2013, Lawrence imported the leopard parts into the United States based on his false statements.

Leopards are a protected species under both the Endangered Species Act and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, an international treaty to which the United States, South Africa, and Mozambique are signatories.

Lawrence is scheduled to make his initial appearance in federal court in Oakland on Jan. 18, 2018.

If convicted, Lawrence faces a maximum sentence of twenty years’ imprisonment, and a fine of $250,000, plus restitution.

--Photo via Pixabay/27707