Iris
Feb 24, 2008, 12:39 PM
A bitter row between US wildlife groups and the Bush administration has broken out over a federal decision to end protection for grey wolves in Montana, Wyoming and Idaho. Removal of protection means wolves can be hunted again.
One of the country's most photogenic wild creatures, the grey wolf (Canis lupus) has only recently been brought back from the brink of extinction after being nearly wiped out in the wild in the 1990s. Today, thanks to reintroduction campaigns and hunting bans, there are more than 1,500 thriving in the Midwest.
According to officials, this number is enough to ensure their survival. 'Wolves are back,' announced Lynn Scarlett, deputy secretary of the Department of the Interior, last week. 'Grey wolves in the northern Rocky mountains are thriving and no longer need protection.'
But this claim was dismissed last week by environmental groups, which announced plans to bring a lawsuit to reverse the decision, scheduled to come into effect in a few weeks. 'The numbers are inadequate and the state programmes are, too,' said Louisa Willcox, a senior wildlife advocate at the Natural Resources Defense Council, a conservation group involved in the lawsuit.
See link below for complete story
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/feb/24/endangeredspecies.conservation
One of the country's most photogenic wild creatures, the grey wolf (Canis lupus) has only recently been brought back from the brink of extinction after being nearly wiped out in the wild in the 1990s. Today, thanks to reintroduction campaigns and hunting bans, there are more than 1,500 thriving in the Midwest.
According to officials, this number is enough to ensure their survival. 'Wolves are back,' announced Lynn Scarlett, deputy secretary of the Department of the Interior, last week. 'Grey wolves in the northern Rocky mountains are thriving and no longer need protection.'
But this claim was dismissed last week by environmental groups, which announced plans to bring a lawsuit to reverse the decision, scheduled to come into effect in a few weeks. 'The numbers are inadequate and the state programmes are, too,' said Louisa Willcox, a senior wildlife advocate at the Natural Resources Defense Council, a conservation group involved in the lawsuit.
See link below for complete story
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/feb/24/endangeredspecies.conservation