Also see Jean Simmons' contact info. below under Local and National Resources.
Jean Simmons, foremost Wildlife Rehabilitator in the Capital Region:
You will find more infographics at Statista
The purpose of the ESA is to conserve threatened and endangered species and their ecosystems. There are more than 1,900 species listed under the ESA. A species is considered endangered if it is in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range. A species is considered threatened if it is likely to become endangered in the future.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) share responsibility for implementing the ESA.
Attempted Progress in the Fight against Trophy Hunting
Cecil (c. 2002 – 2 July 2015) was a male African lion who lived primarily in the Hwange National Park in Matabeleland North, Zimbabwe. He was being studied and tracked by a research team of the University of Oxford as part of a long-term study.
On the night of July 1, 2015, Cecil was lured out of the protected area and wounded with an arrow by Walter Palmer, an American recreational big-game trophy hunter, then tracked and killed with a compound bow the following morning, between 10 and 12 hours later.Cecil was 13 years old when killed. Palmer had purchased a hunting permit and was not charged legally with any crime; authorities in Zimbabwe have said he is still free to visit the country as a tourist, but not as a hunter. Two Zimbabweans (the hunting guide and the owner of the farm where the hunt took place) were briefly arrested but the charges were eventually dismissed by courts.
Born Free USA worked to ensure that Cecil the lion's tragic death at the hands of an American trophy hunter would galvanize positive change for other animals. In response to a petition submitted by Born Free USA and other protection organizations, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issued a final rule on December 21, 2015 listing lions in Central and Western Africa as Endangered, and lions in Southern and Eastern Africa as Threatened, with a special rule pending that would require certain conditions to be met for importation of any lion trophies.
Over the summer of 2015, Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and Representative Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ) introduced the Conserving Ecosystems by Ceasing the Importation of Large (CECIL) Animal Trophies Act (S. 1918/H.R. 3526) to prohibit the importation of trophies from species that are proposed to be listed as Threatened or Endangered. In New Jersey, Senator Raymond Lesniak (D-20) and Assemblyman Tim Eustace (D-38) introduced two bills to crack down on the importation of trophy-hunted wildlife parts into the state.
The last action on the federal bill was August of 2015 as it never advanced to law. https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/BILLS-114s1918is. The New Jersey legislation was signed into law by Governor Chris Christie in June of 2016.
In July 2016 hunters sued to challenge New Jersey big-game trophy ban and to have to law banning big game trophy hunting invalidated. In August 2016 a Federal judge overturned New Jersey's recent law banning the import, possession and transport of legally-harvested African hunting trophies.
Following Cecil's death, more than 40 airlines banned the transport of hunted trophies from the "Big Five" African species (lion, leopard, elephant, rhino, and Cape buffalo), including American Airlines, Delta, United, Virgin, and Jet Blue.
HELPFUL HISTORICAL LINKS
Behavior of exotic pets by 
Forbidden creatures : inside the world of animal smuggling and exotic pets by 
Animal investigators : how the world’s first wildlife forensics lab is solving crimes and saving endangered species by 
Forensic science in wildlife investigations by 
Hope for animals and their world : how endangered species are being rescued from the brink by All marine mammals are protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Some are also protected under the Endangered Species Act and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.
CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) is an international agreement between governments. Its aim is to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten the survival of the species.
