WASHINGTON– The Humane Society of the United States and The Fund for Animals hailed a decision late yesterday by a federal court declaring that the government violated the law by opening or expanding sport hunting at more than three dozen national wildlife refuges over six years. U.S. District Judge Ricardo M. Urbina ruled that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service violated the National Environmental Policy Act by authorizing the new sport hunting programs without analyzing the cumulative environmental impacts on refuge visitors, migratory birds, sensitive resources, and threatened and endangered species.
The Fund, along with more than a dozen of its members who use the nation's refuges for hiking, bird watching and boating, filed suit in 2003, the centennial anniversary of the refuge system, claiming that the agency had opened sport hunting on refuges at an alarming pace without studying the cumulative impacts of significantly expanding hunting on various refuges, particularly refuges in the same general geographic area.
"The court's ruling confirms what we have said all along -- that this agency is running roughshod over sensitive resources and endangered species in its haste to open more and more protected refuge lands to sport hunting," said Jonathan R. Lovvorn, vice president of animal protection litigation for The HSUS and one of the attorneys for the plaintiffs in the case. "The government's decision to vastly expand sport hunting without any comprehensive environmental review is not only illegal, but also ignores the agency's mandate to protect our public lands and wildlife for the benefit of future generations."
President Theodore Roosevelt, himself an avid hunter, established the first national wildlife refuge to protect pelicans and other birds from plume hunters in 1903. For half a century, refuges were special places where wild animals could have sanctuary from hunting and trapping. Since then, however, more than half of the nation's 545 refuges have been opened to sport hunting. At least 30 of the refuges at issue in the lawsuit are used in some manner by species listed as threatened or endangered, while others were established, in whole or in part, to serve as "inviolate sanctuar[ies]" for migratory birds under federal law.
A General Accounting Office report warned the Fish and Wildlife Service more than a decade ago that many of the agency's own refuge managers have identified hunting as a "harmful use" of the refuge system, and more than half thought that such activities should be discontinued immediately. According to the Service, there has been a "significant decline" in the number of some migratory birds that rely on refuges, and a staggering "[f]ifty-five percent of all migratory birds whose populations spend the winter in southern United States have decreased in the past 30 years."
Three new refuges were opened to hunting or expanded in 1998, five in 1999, eight in 2000, 11 in 2001, and 15 in 2002. Since the filing of The Fund's lawsuit, eight new refuges were opened to hunting or expanded in 2003, 16 in 2004, and 13 in 2005. That is a total of 79 refuges opened or expanded in just eight years, despite the fact that refuges are considered to be special places where wildlife can have sanctuary, and that the agency's own documents show that sport hunting has "well documented" adverse effects on migratory bird populations, endangered species, other wildlife, fragile refuge habitats, and refuge visitors.
The Fund for Animals and The HSUS joined forces in 2005 and formally combined their operations. The groups have an active campaign to prevent the most egregious hunting practices, such as Internet hunting, canned hunts, bear baiting, contest killing, and hunting in national parks and national wildlife refuges. Just in the past week, a third major animal protection group, the Doris Day Animal League, has joined the family of organizations as well.
The plaintiffs are represented in the case by the public interest law firm Meyer Glitzenstein & Crystal and the Animal Protection Litigation section of The HSUS. A map and list of the three dozen refuges at issue in The Fund's lawsuit are available by clicking the button on the upper left.
To see the maps and for more information click click here
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The Fund for Animals was founded in 1967 by prominent author and animal advocate Cleveland Amory, and for nearly four decades, has spearheaded some of the most significant events in the history of the animal protection movement. The Fund operates world-famous animal care facilities, such as the Cleveland Amory Black Beauty Ranch, two wildlife rehabilitation centers, a rabbit sanctuary, and the Rural Area Veterinary Services (RAVS) program. The Fund also has more than a dozen active legal cases to protect animals in the courts. On the web at fundforanimals.org.
The Humane Society of the United States is the nation's largest animal protection organization with 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, animals in research, equine protection and farm animal welfare. The HSUS protects all animals through education, investigation, litigation, legislation, advocacy and field work. The non-profit organization is based in Washington and has field representatives and offices across the country. On the web at hsus.org.
