The Trump Administration’s latest, absurd, illegal interpretation of the Endangered Species Act, as per a memo obtained by the New York Times, shouldn’t be entertained.

The memo shows the administration reinterprets the law so that only the “intentional killing of animals, not collateral harm,” would be considered illegal. The incidental killing of endangered animals—which is how nearly all wild animals die at the hands of humans—is now, apparently, okay.

Friends of Animals knows, though, that this reinterpretation is illegal. And not to mention flat out stupid.

“We need to uphold protections of our most vulnerable species,” said Jennifer Best, Director of Friends of Animals’ Wildlife Law Program. “Congress, companies, and society as a whole cannot let this go unnoticed. We’re going to do the best we can to defend wildlife everywhere to the best of our ability. It’s what we’re charged to do.”

Even apoliticals don’t want their beloved bald eagles bulldozed for money interests. This is bound to be a waste of public resources and an invitation for endless lawsuits.

We hope the industries Trump is greenlighting realize that plundering endangered wildlife isn’t a sustainable position in the long run. Why welcome such bad press?

This goes without mentioning that the ESA contains an explicit citizen suit clause that allows private individuals to enforce the act. Even if Trump gives corporations the ok to “accidentally” kill vulnerable animals, there’s nothing preventing the American public from holding companies responsible.

The news came just days after Trump’s last ESA assault went into effect. In July, his administration rescinded the ESA’s definition of “harm” and repealed a 50-year-old rule that defined “harm” as encompassing damage done to an endangered animal’s habitat. It makes sense; only a fool could believe an animal could be meaningfully protected while its habitat is destroyed.

Friends of Animals was horrified and submitted comments against this proposed rule change and later implored our members to urge their congressional representatives to support legislation reestablishing strong ESA protections.

This time, we’re doing the same.

We’re asking our supporters to contact their representatives and let them know you’d like to see them pursue any available opportunity to oppose this change. Opportunities will arise, and we want our representatives to act wherever possible. You can find your representatives here.

As of 2023, over 1,600 species are listed as endangered or threatened under the ESA. It’s estimated that over 99% of the species listed have avoided extinction as a direct result of the protections granted under the act.