PETITION TARGET: United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Mowed down by snowmobiles, pups and nursing mothers burned alive in their dens, and cruelly shot under the cover of night — these are some of the torturous methods used to kill gray wolves after losing federal protection in 2020.
Following a 2022 court order determining that gray wolves would be listed as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in most U.S. states, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) is waging war on wolves once again, asking appeals court judges to remove these protections.
If their appeal is successful, the gray wolf – a highly social, intelligent creature that forms lifelong relationships – will once again lose federal protection, according to Western Livestock Journal. This means that individual states would determine what – if any – protections will be granted to them.
If the 2020 rollback of federal protections is any indication, wolves could soon face severe slaughter. As many as 218 wolves were murdered over a four-day period in Wisconsin in 2021, according to The Guardian. The number of wolves killed is only a part of the story, though.
“When you disrupt their social structure, it can have negative impacts on wolves in ways that might not be reflected in the numbers alone,” National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) Wildlife Scientist Jennifer Sherry said.
In observing a pack of wolves, Living With Wolves noted that they feel and express complex emotions just like we do. They create strong bonds with each other, show compassion, and even mourn when a pack mate is lost.
Wolves play an important role in our ecosystem and they deserve to be treated with the same compassion and respect that they show to each other. Sign this petition and urge the judges of the United States District Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to protect the gray wolf population nationwide and allow them to live peacefully in their natural habitat.
