Yellostone's grizzlies are safe thanks to a ruling that protects them from Trump's crazy idea of making them prey for trophy hunters
He is about to end up run over, his mother saves himThe roughly 700 grizzly bears found in Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks are safe, at least for now.
The federal appeals court in San Francisco has in fact overturned Donald Trump's decision to offer trophy hunters the opportunity to kill these animals.
You may recall that shortly after the president took office, he removed grizzly bears from the endangered species list, meaning they could be hunted. Until 2017, grizzlies had been on the protected list for over 40 years, but the Trump administration decided that conservation efforts had successfully reintegrated the bear population and that there was no need to protect them anymore.
This concretely meant that Yellowstone National Park was open to hunters in Wyoming, Montana and Idaho. A crazy proposal, considering that the population of these animals is limited and is also affected by environmental problems.
Wyoming and Idaho, for the first time in over 40 years, had already announced grizzly hunts that would have allowed the killing of up to 23 bears outside of Yellowstone National Park.
Environmentalists and Native American tribes have fought to point out that grizzlies were still at risk, taking the matter to a federal court in Montana. In September 2018, the court decided to ban hunting Yellowstone grizzly bears but Trump's Fish and Wildlife Service did not give up and appealed the district court order.
Fortunately now, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (a federal court that can override judicial decisions) has ruled that Trump's actions were illegal and in fact allowed grizzly bears to be protected again under the Endangered Species Act. He therefore rejected the appeal, confirming the 2018 decision.
The ruling explains that "population size needs to be increased to ensure long-term viability" and describes the grizzly bear as "an iconic symbol of western Rocky Mountain".
Andrea Zaccardi, senior attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, commented:
“This is a tremendous victory for all who care about Yellowstone Grizzly Bears and for those who have worked to ensure they are protected under the Endangered Species Act. Grizzlies still have a long way to go before recovery. Hunting these beautiful animals in America's most precious national park should never be an option again ”.
Grizzlies, at least for now, are safe. We hope that trophy hunting will be completely abolished as soon as possible, in order to also safeguard many other animal species around the world.
Fonti: The spokesmen Review / Star Tribune
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