Friday, August 14, 2015

Activists Score Victory in Effort to Stop the Government Killing of Millions of Animals

Environmentalists fighting a federal program that routinely and, some say, indiscriminately slaughters millions of animals every year will get their day in court. The United States Department of Agriculture’s Wildlife Services program ostensibly protects farmers by eliminating predators and other wildlife that could hurt crops or livestock. Some see it as an essential service; many conservationists, however, accuse the government of killing indiscriminately, using bad science and not keeping adequate records. Conservation groups are already suing the USDA in multiple states to compel more accountability for the agency’s actions. Now an old case that had been thrown out in Nevada is moving forward again after the 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that it does, indeed, have merit. A federal judge dismissed the original case after the USDA argued that state of Nevada would step in to manage predator control if the federal program did not and thus the environmentalists’ claims were moot. The appeals court last week ruled that this is not a valid argument—and not just because Nevada has little history of wildlife removal and stated in a letter to the court that it has no budget to replace Wildlife Services’ activities. “The ruling makes it clear that just because you were being injured potentially by more than one actor doesn’t mean you can’t seek redress for injuries by one actor,” said Bethany Cotton, wildlife program director for WildEarth Guardians, which filed the original suit and sought the appeal. The court cited several previous Supreme Court opinions including Massachusetts v. EPA, which stated the EPA has the authority to regulate carbon pollution within Massachusetts even though many states and nations besides the U.S. also contribute to global warming. “This is a big deal,” said Cotton, who noted that the ruling could affect similar cases filed in other states in the 9th Circuit’s jurisdiction...more

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