In a dangerous step for its pro-extinction agenda, the U.S. House of Representatives’ outgoing Republican majority passed H.R. 6784, legislation targeting still-imperiled gray wolf populations across the continental United States today. With a vote of 196–180 for final passage, the bill faced strong bipartisan opposition.
The following is a statement from Marjorie Mulhall, Legislative Director for Lands, Wildlife, and Oceans at Earthjustice:
“It’s shameful that anti-wildlife politicians in House Republican leadership are using the remaining time in this Congress to attack the Endangered Species Act — the law that saved our national symbol, the bald eagle — and to push legislation to allow gray wolves across our country to be killed.
“Thanks to the Endangered Species Act, gray wolves are recovering from the centuries of trapping, hunting, and poisoning that brought them to the brink of extinction in the continental U.S. But these icons of the wild are still missing from much of their still-suitable habitat, and have been subjected to hostile killing practices in places such as Wyoming where they have already lost their Endangered Species Act status. Gray wolves continue to need federal protections.”
As the gray wolf’s reintroduction has illustrated, healthy ecosystems are interconnected, holistic entities requiring rich biodiversity, including the presence of apex predators such as wolves.
(National Park Service Photo)
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