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2d ago

House Passes Bill to End Gray Wolf ESA Protections and Block Court Review

The measure now heads to a Senate where a 60-vote threshold makes passage uncertain.

This Jan. 24, 2025 file image provided by the Arizona Game and Fish Department shows a Mexican gray wolf in the wild that was monitored as part of a population survey in eastern Arizona. (Arizona Game and Fish Department via AP File)
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Overview

  • The House approved H.R. 845, the Pet and Livestock Protection Act, in a 211–204 vote with five Democrats in favor and four Republicans opposed.
  • The bill orders the Interior secretary to reissue the 2020 delisting rule for gray wolves in the lower 48 and bars any court challenges to that action.
  • A 2022 federal ruling vacated the 2020 rule after finding regulators had not shown populations would remain sustainable without federal protections.
  • Supporters including the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, the Public Lands Council, and Republican sponsors argue states can manage recovered populations and that delisting will help address livestock losses.
  • Opponents including Democrats and conservation groups say the move disregards science, threatens recovery, and removes judicial oversight; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service data indicate more than 4,500 wolves in the western Great Lakes and nearly 2,800 in seven western states would be affected.