Wildlife Legal News
Our society created a legal system to resolve disputes and declare rights. While the system is designed to give humans an opportunity to be heard, it often neglects the lives of animals, especially wildlife. Friends of Animals seeks to utilize and develop laws in a way that offers animals representation too. Wildlife legal news covers stories from around the world about how the law is being used, or abused, to control the fate of human-wildlife interactions. It also contains updates on cases that Friends of Animals is pursuing or currently engaged in.
January 31, 2018. The oceanic whitetip shark will be listed as threatened under the ESA. Read about it here!
January 25, 2018. Environmental groups suing the EPA and Trump administration over adverse effects of pesticides on marine life. Read about it here!
January 18, 2018. Federal appeals court upholds the killing of barred owls. Read about it here!
November 14, 2017. The Nonhuman Rights Project led by Steven Wise files lawsuit to give rights to three captive elephants under habeas corpus. Read about it here!
November 9, 2017. The Center for Biological Diversity files petition to ensure continued ESA protections for Preble’s meadow jumping mouse. Read about it here!
October 10, 2017. A new bill was reintroduced recently to remove the use of traps in National Wildlife Refuge Systems. Read about it here.
October 9, 2017. Friends of Animals’ Wildlife Law Program appeared in court last week to battle for the rights of barred owls and northern spotted owls. Watch the video here!
September 19, 2017. The smallest dolphin in the world, the Maui dolphin, is being listed as endangered under the ESA, along with the South Island Hector’s dolphin. The final rule is on the Federal Register here.
September 14, 2017. The IUCN is changing the status of the snow leopard from endangered to vulnerable, but leading conservation organizations don’t agree. Read about it here!
September 13, 2017. Republicans are attempting to advance five bills that will impact the Endangered Species Act this week. Read about it here!
September 12, 2017. PETA settles lawsuit over macaque monkey selfie photos, but doesn’t really get to the root of the problem: how our legal system values and views animal rights. Read the story here.
September 7, 2017. Here we go again, the gun has become the government’s choice of management tools when it comes to wildlife on public lands. Read the latest here: Grand Canyon National Park will reduce the size of its bison herd through culling, trapping and moving the animals to other locations.
September 6, 2017. The Draft Recovery Plan for the Mexican Wolf seems to not favor scientific evidence of how many wolves should actually be reintroduced, as well as putting most of the responsibility for the species on Mexico. Read the story here.
August 30, 2017. This is just disgraceful! NRA Official Lands Seat On National Park Foundation Board. Read the story here: https://www.nationalparkstraveler.org/2017/08/nra-official-lands-seat-national-park-foundation-board
August 29, 2017. Oregon wildlife officials are at it again–placing the interests of cattlemen above wildlife. Read the story here: ODFW to kill wolves from Meacham pack.
August 27, 2017. As local, state and federal officials meet with members of the ranching communities behind closed to discuss wild horses, advocates are shut out. Read the story here: Critics: Utah horse meeting is secretive ‘slaughter summit’. Also read this op-ed by Friends of Animals’ President, Priscilla Feral: Commentary: Wild horse summit excludes key advocates, public.
