Washington, D.C. — Born Free USA, a leading national wildlife conservation organization, strongly opposes nine bills introduced on July 12, 2018 by republican members of the Congressional Western Caucus. These bills continue the assault on the Endangered Species Act (ESA) by a faction of Congressional Members seeking to put industry and short-term profit ahead of protecting our most imperiled plants and animals and the long-term health of our vital ecosystems.
Combined, the “Western Caucus Endangered Species Act Modernization Package,” would dismantle and weaken key portions of the ESA, our most effective law for protecting wildlife in danger of extinction. Specifically, provisions in these nine bills would: make listing new species under the ESA more difficult, while making delisting species easier; shift authority away from the federal government to states and tribal authorities; weaken the quality of science used to make decisions by mandating that state or tribal scientific findings will automatically be considered the best available scientific data, even when they are not; and impede citizen action in enforcing the ESA, both through citizen listing petitions and citizen court access.
According to Prashant Khetan, Born Free USA CEO and General Counsel, “The ESA is an exceedingly effective and popular law. It has prevented more than 99 percent of listed species from going extinct, including such iconic species as the bald eagle, grizzly bear, and gray wolf. The Congressional Western Caucus claims that it wants to ‘modernize’ and ‘improve’ the ESA, but – as we have seen countless times before – those words are simply code for weakening and dismantling our nation’s foremost wildlife protection law. Rather than further jeopardizing already imperiled species and habitats, Congress should fully fund ESA recovery efforts and truly improve the implementation of the ESA.”
About Born Free USA
Born Free USA, a national 501(c)(3), believes that every individual animal matters. Inspired by the Academy Award®-winning film Born Free, the organization works locally, nationally, and internationally on the conservation frontlines, in communities, classrooms, courtrooms, and the halls of Congress, to end wild animal cruelty and suffering, and protect threatened wildlife.
Launched in 2002, Born Free USA was inspired by Virginia McKenna and her (late) husband Bill Travers, who, along with their son, Will, founded The Born Free Foundation (UK) in 1984. Their experience in Kenya filming the classic 1966 Academy Award®-winning film Born Free, the story of Joy and George Adamson’s fight to successfully return Elsa the lioness to a wild and free life, launched the couple’s “compassionate conservation” movement, aimed at keeping wildlife in the wild. This movement continues to motivate millions of followers and activists across the globe. In 2007, Born Free USA merged with the Animal Protection Institute.
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