Conservation groups allege US has failed to protect endangered red wolf

Source: The Guardian

Conservation groups allege US has failed to protect endangered red wolf

Oliver Milman in New York
Tuesday 17 November 2015 18.52 GMT

The US government has failed to properly protect the red wolf, one of the world’s rarest wolves, by allowing a member of the species’ small wild population to be killed, conservationists have claimed.

The US Fish and Wildlife Service has been taken to court by a coalition of environmental groups that argues it has not properly protected the endangered red wolf, with estimates of just 50 to 75 of the animals left in the wild in North Carolina.

A lawsuit filed with the US district court for the eastern district of North Carolina states that the FWS permitted a landowner to kill an adult female red wolf in June that was known to have mothered a total of 16 pups through four litters.

This killing, along with a previous shooting of a red wolf last year, represents a “direct violation” of regulations around the capture of wolves on private property, the lawsuit claims.

The environment groups – the Red Wolf Coalition, Defenders of Wildlife and the Animal Welfare Institute – also allege that the FWS has failed to properly review the status of red wolves and has unduly suspended the reintroduction of the species from captivity into the wild.

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Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/nov/17/red-wolf-endangered-lawsuit-north-carolina