Private versus government regulation of animal advertising

One might wonder why a private right of publicity is preferable to government enforcement.  First, and most importantly, civil penalties payable to the government generally return to treasuries or general funds.  Janet Nguyen, Where Does Money Collected from Corporate Fines Go?, Marketplace (Aug. 12, 2022), https://www.marketplace.org/2022/08/12/where-does-money-collected-from-corporate-fines-go.  Even if penalties for violations of endangered species’ publicity rights were specifically directed to conservation, governments may lack the authority or competence to allocate the funds effectively.  Cf. Hana Vizcarra & Laura Bloomer, DOJ Phases Out Supplemental Environmental Projects in Environmental Enforcement, HLS Env’t & Energy L. Program (Aug. 6, 2020), https://eelp.law.harvard.edu/2020/08/doj-phases-out-supplemental-environmental-projects-in-environmentalenforcement.  It is similarly unclear that governments would have the ability or competence to negotiate with potential users over licensing fees (or to spend such fees).  Second, government agencies tasked with environmental enforcement already lack the resources necessary for robust enforcement.  Cheryl Hogue, Most US States Lack Sufficient Resources to Protect Public from Pollution, Report Says, C&EN (Dec. 5, 2019) https://cen.acs.org/environment/pollution/USstates-lack-sufficient-resources/97/web/2019/12.  Tasking them with enforcing endangered species’ publicity rights would likely result in insufficient enforcement of either the new rights or of preexisting obligations, neither of which situation is desirable.  Vesting the right in nongovernmental organizations, on the other hand, means that the funds can be directed to conservation without adding to busy government agencies’ plates. Finally, a private right would not be as likely to go unenforced during periods of reduce executive enthusiasm for environmental protection. Cf. New EPA Enforcement Data Show Continued Downward Trend During Trump Administration, Env't Integrity Proj. (Jan. 14, 2021), https://environmentalintegrity.org/news/epa-enforcement-data-downward-trend-during-trump-administration/.

Similar reasons at least plausibly make a privately enforced right preferable to a tax-and-transfer regime.  Though that would not require a government agency to negotiate with advertisers, it would require the government to make conservation funding decisions.  Moreover, it would arguably be less efficient than a licensing regime insofar as it would seem more difficult to fine-tune the cost of using any particular species based on that species's desirability.