HR 845: Pet and Livestock Protection Act

HR 845 in plain English: This bill directs the Department of the Interior to remove federal endangered species protections for the gray wolf in the lower 48 United States (excluding the Mexican wolf subspecies) by reinstating a 2020 rule that a federal court previously struck down. It also bars courts from reviewing the reimposed rule.

Stated purpose

The bill directs the Department of the Interior to remove federal endangered species protections for the gray wolf in the lower 48 United States, restoring a 2020 rule that a federal court had struck down.

Key points

• Requires the Interior Department to reinstate a November 2020 rule removing gray wolves from the endangered and threatened species list
• Applies to gray wolves in the lower 48 states, but not the Mexican wolf subspecies
• Prohibits judicial review of the reinstated rule, preventing courts from blocking it again

Arguments supporters make

• Gray wolf populations have recovered enough that federal protection is no longer needed, and states are better positioned to manage wildlife within their own borders
• Ranchers and rural families have suffered real losses of livestock and pets to wolf predation and deserve clearer legal tools to protect their property
• Restoring the 2020 rule simply undoes a single court's decision and returns policy to what federal wildlife managers had already determined was appropriate

Arguments opponents make

• Blocking judicial review is an unusual step that removes a standard legal safeguard, preventing courts from checking whether the government followed its own rules
• Wolf recovery remains uneven across the country, and delisting everywhere at once could threaten populations in areas where wolves are still rare
• Congress bypassing the normal scientific review process under the ESA sets a precedent for removing species protections through legislation rather than biological assessment

Tradeoffs

Protecting livestock owners and expanding state control over wolf management comes at the cost of federal species protections that some scientists and conservationists argue are still needed in parts of the wolves' range; additionally, stripping judicial review resolves uncertainty quickly but eliminates a legal avenue that citizens normally have to challenge government decisions.

Current status in Congress: Passed House.

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