WASHINGTON  – A broad coalition of organizations, including The Humane Society of the United States, the Animal Protection Institute, Friends of Animals and Their Environment, Help Our Wolves Live, Indigenous Environmental Network, the Klamath Forest Alliance, and RESTORE: The North Woods filed suit in federal court today to halt the killing of endangered gray wolves in Wisconsin.  

The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, challenges the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's issuance of a so-called "enhancement" permit authorizing state officials to kill dozens of wolves that are listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. The ESA allows only limited, narrow exceptions to its blanket ban on the killing of endangered species, and the exceptions for "research" and "enhancement" have never before been used to authorize the type of killing sanctioned by the recent Wisconsin permit.

"The Service's decision to issue the scientific permit to authorize the killing of endangered wolves violates the letter and spirit of the ESA and blatantly ignores its mandate to protect these majestic animals," said Patricia Lane, senior attorney for The HSUS. "The intentional misuse of the ESA permit is an overt and dramatic violation of the ESA." 

This is not the first time that the FWS has tried to bend the law to allow the killing of wolves. In 2005, members of this same coalition filed suit challenging a similar ESA permit issued to Wisconsin because it was issued without any public notice or opportunity to comment. Last fall, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia agreed with the coalition and issued an order vacating the permit. Although the FWS received numerous comments explaining how the ESA does not allow the issuance of an "enhancement" permit to authorize the killing of depredating wolves, the FWS ignored these warnings and simply reissued the permit to Wisconsin.

"Shooting depredating wolves is neither research nor an action that enhances the survival of the species," said Linda Hatfield of Help Our Wolves Live. "The Fish and Wildlife Service's actions set a horrible precedent for misuse of the ESA's exception for taking endangered species for legitimate research and conservation purposes."

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The Humane Society of the United States is the nation's largest animal protection organization with more than 9.5 million members and constituents. The HSUS is a mainstream voice for animals, with active programs in companion animals, disaster preparedness and response, wildlife and habitat protection, marine mammals, animals in research, equine protection, and farm animal welfare. The HSUS protects all animals through education, investigation, litigation, legislation, advocacy and field work. The nonprofit organization is based in Washington and has field representatives and offices across the country. On the web at www.hsus.org.