'Unacceptable': Trump admin faces flak for lifting federal protections for gray wolfs

On Oct. 29, 2020, the Trump administration officials ended federal safeguards for the Endangered Species Act protections for gray wolves in most of the US, Department of Interior announcement in a press conference. Furthermore, states were made in charge of protecting the species and tackling the predators. According to sources of Associated Press, the crapping of the act has stirred fresh fears about the resumption of gray wolf hunting in some swing states like Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. 

Minnesota Governor, Tim Waltz expressed disappointment at the Trump administration's decision, who asserted that the wild animal's population has drastically “recovered”, and hence, it could now be dropped off the endangered list. Waltz has long been against the recreational hunting of endangered species. Meanwhile, wildlife advocacy groups and other conservation groups have sought to challenge the move in the court. Trump’s decision comes in the wake of the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s proposal last year that requested to remove the gray wolf from the Endangered Species Act list as it cited that the population has retrieved the count to more than 6,000 gray wolves in the US. 

Read: Biden Hits Trump On COVID, Climate Change In Tampa

Read: US Election 2020: Trump Faces Major Embarrassment With Kushner Tapes On Pandemic Handling

"Today's action reflects the Trump Administration's continued commitment to species conservation based on the parameters of the law and the best scientific and commercial data available," Interior Department Secretary David Bernhardt said in a statement.

He further added, saying, that almost 45 years later after having been listed as endangered species, the gray wolf has now exceeded all conservation goals for recovery.

Wildlife President calls decision 'reckless'

The announcement simply reflects the determination that this species is neither a threatened nor endangered species based on the specific factors Congress has laid out in the law, Bernhardt said. Grey wolf, whose population was pushed to the brink of extinction in as many as 48 states are mostly abound in Great Lakes and Rocky Mountains areas in the US. Attorney for Earthjustice Kristen Boyles told CNN that the gray wolf's removal, which were added to the endangered species list in 1978 is an unacceptable decision. The wolves had just gotten to recover in numbers in Northern California and the Pacific Northwest, and need federal protection in the Southern Rockies, she said. Meanwhile, in a televised interview with CNN, Wildlife President and CEO Jamie Rappaport Clark slammed Trump's decision as “premature and reckless”, adding, that he is taking the US Fish and Wildlife Service to court. 

[Interior Secretary David Bernhardt announces the gray wolf's recovery "a milestone of success" during a stop at the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge, Thursday, Oct. 29, 2020, in Bloomington, Minn.Credit: AP]

[Remote camera image provided by the U.S. Forest Service shows a female gray wolf and two of the three pups born in 2017 in the wilds of Lassen National Forest in Northern California. Credit: AP]

Read: Trump, First Lady Make Joint Appearance, Cheer GDP

Read: Biden Joins Trump In Chasing Florida Votes

(Image Credit: AP)