Can illegal be legal within the European Union

Abstract Here we present a discussion considering the U.S. Lacey Act, its implementa­tion since the year 1900, and its 1935 amendment that makes unlawful any violation of foreign conservation laws. Further we evaluate the resulting con­sequences for the international trade of wild species, as well as the conse­quences for their conservation within their countries of origin. We also address a fundamental question on how to protect global biodiversity on an interna­tional basis. We refer to recent and well documented examples for the illegal trade with endangered and nationally protected species. We particularly take into account how the trade is practiced within the European Union where no effective protection law regarding the countries of origin are in force. Finally we focus on the current actions taken by the EU in order to take into account the implementation of new regulations for the international trade with nation­ally protected and/or endangered species. Our hope is that our readers gain a comprehensive insight into this problem, since these insights currently seem to be lost in the ongoing discussion that is mainly dominated by trade lobbyists and those who provide their more commercialized views on these important issues for conserving our biodiversity globally.