U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany of Wisconsin’s 7th congressional district and Colorado Congresswoman Lauren Boebert led 30 members of Congress to reintroduce legislation to remove the gray wolf from the Endangered Species List.
The Pet and Livestock Protection Act requires the Secretary of the Interior to reissue the 2020 Department of the Interior final rule that delisted gray wolves in the lower 48 United States. It also ensures this rule cannot be overturned through judicial review, preventing activist judges, like the California judge who vacated the rule in 2022, from relisting the gray wolf by judicial fiat.
“Since then, wolf attacks in Wisconsin have increased for the third consecutive year,” Tiffany says. “There have been numerous gray wolf attacks in Wisconsin’s Seventh District over the last few years.”
The bill passed the House of Representatives last Congress on a bipartisan basis, but was held up in the Senate.
“Scientific data, coupled with the rise in wolf attacks in Wisconsin, confirms that the gray wolf population has exceeded recovery goals. Yet, activist judges continue to disregard these facts, leaving livestock, pets, wildlife, and communities vulnerable to further harm,” says Tiffany. “The Pet and Livestock Protection Act will restore management to those who understand local needs best – state wildlife officials – and ensure that out-of-state judges can no longer dictate how Wisconsin manages its wolf population.”
Wisconsin’s Congressional members who cosponsored the bill include: U.S. Reps. Scott Fitzgerald, Glenn Grothman, Bryan Steil, Derrick Van Orden, and Tony Wied. Local stakeholders that support the bill include: the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation, Wisconsin Cattlemen’s Association, and Wisconsin Bear Hunters Association.
