The gray wolf will remain on the Endangered Species List. This week the federal appeals court ruled against the Obama administration’s 2011 decision to delist the gray wolf from protection — now making wolf hunting illegal in the lower 48.
The gray wolf may be protected, but what about our livestock?
“At well over 4,000 wolves, it is abundantly clear that the population in the region is recovered and thriving. Rather than celebrating the successful recovery of this species, Minnesota, Michigan, and Wisconsin will continue to be held hostage to the whims of radical environmental activists,” said Ethan Lane, executive director of the Public Lands Council and NCBA federal lands after the ruling Tuesday. “It is now incumbent upon Congress to take action to carry out the proper delisting of the gray wolf and modernize the Endangered Species Act so that it works for every American, not just well-funded judicial activists.”
“This ruling defies common sense,” said American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall said. ““The court handed down this opinion despite an abundance of scientific and commercial data showing no material threat to the wolf population. Neither the goals outlined in various recovery plans nor the aggressive and successful leadership to save the wolves in affected states moved the court to do the right thing.
“Congress needs to take action to reform the broken and outdated Endangered Species Act. There’s no question the wolf packs have recovered. We only wish we could say the same of farms and ranches within their reach.”
