Trump Administration Ends Gray Wolf Protections
“Reckless” decision could see wolves hunted and maimed across the lower 48 states.
The Trump administration has declared that the gray wolf is no longer an endangered species, leaving the once near-extinct animal now without any legal protection.
The new laws will apply to the lower 48 states, where there are around 6,000 wolves. Now, their lack of protection will likely lead to huge numbers of wolves being hunted and killed.
According to figures from states where restrictions had already been lifted, the likes of Idaho saw over 500 wolves killed last year alone, including weeks-old wolf pups.
Wildlife groups condemned the administration’s move and have already announced they will mount a legal challenge against the decision.
“Stripping protections for gray wolves is premature and reckless,” said Jamie Rappaport Clark, president of Defenders of Wildlife and a former director of the US Fish and Wildlife Service, reports The Guardian. “Gray wolves occupy only a fraction of their former range and need continued federal protection to fully recover. We will be taking the US Fish and Wildlife Service to court to defend this iconic species.”
Campaigners also highlighted the political-motivations behind the administration’s decision.
“The battle over wolf recovery is, unfortunately, both politically charged and partisan,” explains Lindsay Larris, wildlife program director with WildEarth Guardians. “For decades, ranchers have demonized wolves because they are an impediment to carefree, inexpensive grazing of private livestock on public lands. Finalizing delisting of wolves a few days before an election is a gift to the ranching and agricultural interests, plain and simple.”
Conservation groups aren’t alone in their criticism. Over one-hundred scientists and scholars have combined their voices in an open letter to the Trump administration, urging it to protect wolves. “In recent years, efforts to delist wolves have been motivated by local and special interests”, the letter explains. “As such, these efforts eviscerate the essential purpose of federal governance and the ESA, which is to conserve species insomuch as doing so is a national interest.”
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