Breaking news: House votes to remove Endangered Species Act protections for gray wolves
A multitude of polls and studies show that Americans value and appreciate wolves and want to see them protected and treated humanely, but members of Congress today decided otherwise. Photo by iStockphoto
In a shameless move that puts at risk one of America’s most valued and iconic native carnivores, the U.S. House of Representatives has voted to strip Endangered Species Act protections from gray wolves in the continental United States. The bill, which passed today by a vote of 196 to 180, still needs Senate approval, and that gives us a chance to kill it. If we don’t, we’ll be facing a scenario in which states are permitted to open up a trophy hunting season on gray wolves, putting them in the crosshairs of hunters, commercial trappers and ranchers.
The House vote on the Manage our Wolves Act, H.R. 6784, introduced by Rep. Sean Duffy, R-Wis., threatens the future of gray wolves because they are only recovered to about five percent of their historic range. But there’s something still more outrageous about this legislation as a matter of democratic principle. It strips the courts of authority to review endangered species protection decisions to ensure that they are not made on political or other impermissible bases, and that’s a travesty.
Most Americans do not want wolves to be hunted. A multitude of polls and studies show that Americans value and appreciate wolves and want to see them protected and treated humanely. Today’s vote subverts the public will in deference to trophy hunting and agribusiness interests, even though the federal agency charged with wildlife protection already has authority to amend protections where they are supported by science. A handful of congressmen working for special interests have turned American democracy on its head.
The champions of this outrageous measure have pushed out the canard that it is a mitigation measure to help ranchers and farmers, despite the fact that wolves only take 0.04 percent of the livestock in the states where they are present. Data we analyzed from the U.S. Department of Agriculture show that most livestock losses come from health problems, weather events, poison and theft.
We’ve got to do our best to make sure that this dangerous bill does not pass in the Senate. Were it to become law, history shows that states will do nothing to protect wolves. Even now, states like Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin are poised to open liberal trophy hunting and trapping seasons on them.
Wolves are intelligent, family-oriented animals, and when members of the pack are killed, it not only causes grief for the survivors, but it disrupts their entire social structure. Pups and yearlings cannot survive if their parents and other family members are killed.
The vote today was mostly along party lines, with nine Democrats joining 187 Republicans to pass the bill. Twelve Republicans voted to oppose it. We are grateful to Reps. Don Beyer, D-Va., Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., Suzanne Bonamici, D-Ore., Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., Debbie Dingell, D-Mich., Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., Raul Grijalva, D-Ariz., Jared Huffman, D-Calif., and Betty McCollum, D-Minn., who spoke on the House floor to oppose the bill.
But the protection of our wildlife ought not to be a partisan issue: wolves are not hunted for food and we must work for the day when all can agree that one of America’s most beautiful carnivores should not be reduced to a pelt or a trophy on a wall.
We also shouldn’t stand for some of our most basic democratic rights taken away from us, like the right to challenge regulatory action by the government that is supposed to represent us and properly implement our laws. Please contact your U.S. Senator and let them know that you will not stand for this brazen attack on our precious wildlife.
I heard. …I’m devastated by this thoughtless act.
AMEN !!!
These animals must live they have as much right as we do…….don’t kill but let them live…….in the name of Jesus!!!!
I am so tired of our Government ignoring the people. We do not support this massacre in any way shape or form. Nor do we support anyone in Washington DC that does. Stop bending over for special interest groups and start doing your job. Do not delist these animals from the Endangered species act.
They are taking a Step BACKWARDS! It’s UNSPEAKALE TRAPPED In BEAR TRAPS & TORTURED ! THERES A PLACE IN HELL FOR THESE PEOPME WHO DO THESE UNIMAGINABLE CRUELTY! AND AL THAT VOTED SHOULD HAVE BEEN VOTED OUT WE DONT NEED ANY ANIMAL HATERS IN OUR SOCIETY!!
Please don’t allow wolves to be hunted.
This is unacceptable! There were so many more of these beautiful creatures walking this planet and keeping a natural balance in the past. I will NOT stand by this disgusting, greedy decision. Please, please, please do not stand by this. We will not stop.
Amber
Wolves are too important to our planet, not to be protected! !! They are one of the most important animals that balance Mother nature!! Wake up for goodness sake!!!
The wolves have every right to live…. It changes the entire ecosystem to kill them. They have been on the endangered species list for good reason. It’s cruel to kill them…. we have no right. Please act in humane, compassionate and respectful ways for the wolves.
There is no such thing as too many wolves, only too many hunters!
There is no such thing as too many wolves. Only too many hunters!
Nooooooooooooo 😢😢😢😢😢
Please save the wolves 😪
No!!!!!!!
Leave these beautifull creatures alone!!!!
Yes to delisting.
The US Government is allowing the destruction of the wildlife of this country. No support from Donald Trump. The House should be ashamed of themselves! Idiots!
Wolves are beautiful, majestic animals. They form family units and are highly intelligent.
Do not remove wolves from endangered species protection status.
If ranchers want to graze their livestock, its their responsibility to provide sufficient grazing area and fenced. It is not the government’s responsibility to provide assistance to livestock. I demand that you continue to grant protected status to grey wolves and and their relatives.
This is shameful. What kind of government are you? Those beautiful animals have no voice. You all want to be ashamed 😡 Systematically destroying nature, first the bears, now the wolves, its disgusting.
Wolves are essential to the environment and keeps the elk and deer herds in balance. Science has proven beyond a doubt that they are needed to keep the balance of the eco system. Do not take their rights away and keep them protected under state and federal law.
Please stop destroying this world, every single creature in this planet is important we need to show our kind and we need to appreciate what we have here or do you have another home to live ? STOP STOP WE NEED TO SAVE THE FOREST,WILD LIFE OCEANS AND RIVERS
It’s all in the balance. What is wrong. We are not engaging in science. Just making policy decisions based on people’s clout not scientific evidence. Wolves need to be protected for balance. The cattle people need to step up buy the dogs for protection. Done. That’s the answer. Scientific proof.
SAVE THE GRAY WOLVES
Please stop this Bill in the Senate, which would allow hunting, trapping and ranchers killing the Gray Wolves!! If you read the Humane Society blog dated yesterday (Nov.18, 2018) you will see the threat to
The Gray Wolves will be horrific if this Bill is allowed to pass in your Senate!! Please read as much as you can and see that the Gray Wolf is not a threat to humans, ranchers, and other animals as it used to be , with proper laws on the books!! Please vote NO!
Here we go again why are these animal always seem to be the bad guys where as we are suppose to be the smart ones just leave them alone or we will no longer have wolves to show are children
Nature suffers because of political maneuvering. When will they realize we need environmental balances to protect this planet. The government thinks by extermination it can create a balence. Well look around and tell me what the balances are? We are exterminating wild life for man’s sporting hunger daily. Deregulation is a copout.
Please do not remove the protection for the wolves of North America. These apex predators are very important to their ecosystems around where they live including Yellowstone National Park. They are helping keep the prey animals in balance from over-consuming the vegetation in their habitats and they made a great movie called “How Wolves Change Rivers” which explains how they fixed up the national parks from where they were absent from for years before I was born. They belong hunting free and in the wild.
People need to know what they are talking about. No-one wants full scale culling of wolves, quite the opposite. We all just want to be able to defend ourselves, and our pets and our livelihoods. As it stands a wolf can kill your dogs, all of them, and the only time you can kill a wolf is if it is attacking you or your children. There is a problem when people are talking about the wolves crossing the railroad tracks and stalking the small children that are playing nearby. Up north there is now an abundance of the creatures and people in big cities should mind their own business. Leave this business to the people that are directly affected.
I have called the 2 Senators and Congressman of our State many times regarding this. It is too late. What is with the people. Why are they not protecting the wolves?
Boone and Crockett trophy hunters think a dead stuffed grey wolf will look great in their menagerie of other dead animals.
If you want to stop senseless murdering of innocent animals animals around the world, we need to focus on the real drivers of this criminal act. The men and women of this organization, the NRA, and other elitist hunting organizations are the real culprits. They are the ones with big $$$ who lobby the government. Winning this battle is not just with the government, but it is going to the true source of the crime: it’s members who kill.
Literature has always portrayed the wolf as being so ravenous, just waiting for farm animals and farmers to come around the corner so they can rip them apart and head to the farm house and eat the rest of the family.But, in reality they rarely interact with humans…hiding from any interaction unless their children are in harm’s way.Whereas humans shoot from helicopters, aiming at the alpha male or female, knowing they mate for life.Also humans feel no problem with attacking and killing pups and Mothers while they are still in their dens,(same with bears).Now, who has the reason to attack??
Stop please do not remove protections for wolves because they are very important to their ecosystems as top predators and even though they’ve been saved by The Endangered Species Act, Trump Administration is making things worse since they don’t care about wildlife and they need a spanking because keeping protections for wolves is very important and we are not going to allow them to remove protections, so don’t listen to them. They are rude and vile and make things worse for America.