Fed court upholds Maine's trapping regulations concerning Canada lynx species

A federal court ruling on Tuesday upheld Maine's trapping regulations by denying a request from two animal welfare organizations for a permanent injunction because they failed to prove Canada lynx as a species is irreparably harmed under the regulations. The ruling from U.S. District Court Chief Judge John A. Woodcock Jr. came nearly 15 months after the Animal Welfare Institute and the Wildlife Alliance of Maine filed the case against Roland D. Martin, commissioner of the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. "The department and the Office of the Maine Attorney General are pleased that Chief Judge Woodcock let stand Maine trapping regulations, and rejected claims that trapping is detrimental to the Canada lynx species," department spokeswoman Deborah Turcotte wrote in a report Thursday evening...read more