NATION : Alaska Natives Liable for ‘Waste’
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SAN FRANCISCO — A federal appeals court ruled today that Alaska natives, normally exempt from a moratorium on killing rare marine mammals, may be criminally prosecuted if their killing of the animals is found “wasteful.”
The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals decision upholds the constitutionality of a provision of the Marine Mammal Protection Act regulating wasteful killing of marine mammals by Indians, Aleuts or Eskimos.
The law established a moratorium on taking or importing marine mammals or products made from the animals except for the making of authentic native handicrafts and clothing or meat sold for subsistence living in Alaskan villages.
The law prohibits native Alaskans from wasting substantial portions of a marine mammal that was killed.
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