US Fish & Wildlife Service Ignores Calls to Protect Gray Wolves

​worldanimalnews.com/u-s-fish-and-wildlife-service-ignores-bidens-executive-order-to-push-to-restore-protections-for-grey-wolves-in-the-united-states/

On January 20th of this year, President Biden issued a broad review of the Trump administrations wildlife policies which included the decision to strip gray wolves of their Endangered Species Act protections. In under a week, the US Fish & Wildlife Services responded, stating that the previous administration's decision to strip gray wolves was still valid. Protections were stripped from gray wolves in October of 2020, despite concerns raised from the peer review.

There are anywhere from 6, 000 - 12, 000 recorded gray wolves remaining throughout the lower 48 states, depending on various sources.  Removing their ESA status removes all of the funding and resources attached to their conservation, putting them at risk of falling into the pattern that once decimated their populations. Removing protections from a once endangered animal is something that has to be done with the utmost responsibility and understanding of the animal in question. Unfortunately, I do not believe the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Services is capable of making that decision from a morally in tact position. 

Gray wolves occupy a mere 10% of the land they historically roamed and their populations have dropped over 90%, even after recovery is considered. Removing their protections now will plunge them back into desperation. Conservation requires years and years of tireless effort, and considering gray wolves have been listed under the ESA for over 50 years and we're talking about fewer than 10, 000, I can't imagine removing their protections is a wise decision. In fact, I can envision gray wolves ending up back on the list within the next 10 years at the rate in which we are helping along the mass extinction currently plaguing our planet. 

I have lost all faith in the US Fish & Wildlife Services. After having reported on their failures over the past 5 or 6 years on this blog, I simply don't have any faith in this organization. The same organization that takes years and several lawsuits to actually function, expects us to believe that they conducted a review of the gray wolf management in under a week. It's incredibly alarming how quickly the USFWS conducted their review and came to the decision that gray wolves no longer require protections, and I fear that this rushed review of their survival will only hurt their chances of continued population growth.

Gray wolves still require protections. The USFWS has failed them by pandering to the former President and making the survival of gray wolves political. So many species on our planet face the possibility of extinction, now is not the time to be stripping them of much needed protections. Gray wolves deserve a future on our planet and without these protections, their future is in jeopardy.

HAPPY VEG