WASHINGTON, D.C. –The House of Representatives passed, in a bipartisan fashion, the Pet and Livestock Protection Act (H.R. 845). This legislation co-sponsored by Congressman Pete Stauber (MN08), will delist the gray wolf under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).
Specifically, the bill requires the first Trump Administration’s November 2020 rule delisting the gray wolf from the Endangered Species List be reissued. This will allow states to manage individual wolf populations based on clear science, while preventing activist judges from singlehandedly overturning this rule. This bill, long championed by Stauber will safeguard farmers’ livelihoods and livestock, keep pets safe in our communities, and allow deer populations to rebound for Minnesota hunters.
“Delisting of the gray wolf has been a top priority for me in Congress and I applaud my colleagues for passing this crucial bill,” Stauber said. “As I’ve said before, the gray wolf recovery is a genuine conservation success story and should be celebrated. The science is clear: populations have recovered. Delisting will protect our farmers and their livestock, help our rural families and communities, and - importantly - return to local control of wolf management. I’m proud to have helped get it across the finish line.”
“With today’s House passage, the bill will head to the Senate. I urge Minnesota’s two U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith to swiftly pass this legislation,” Stauber added.
In 2020, the gray wolf was delisted in the lower 48 states under guidance from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service based on science and recovery of wolf populations. However, in 2022, a federal district court judge in California overturned the federal rule, placing the wolves back on the threatened and endangered lists.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service previously attempted to delist the wolf during the Bush and Obama Administrations, but federal courts also blocked these actions. The Trump Administration’s 2020 delisting of the gray wolf was defended in court by the Biden Administration and continues to be defended by the Trump Administration.
