Reps. Gosar, Pearce Introduce Bipartisan Mexican Wolf Transparency & Accountability Act

Press Release

Today, U.S. Congressman Paul A. Gosar, D.D.S. (AZ-04) released the following statement after introducing H.R. 2910, the Mexican Wolf Transparency and Accountability Act, which would require the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to comply with federal law and terminate the new overreaching regulations that established the dangerous "Nonessential Experimental Population" program for the Mexican wolf:

"The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's attempts to play God with the Mexican wolf population have been nothing short of a disaster. The Service admitted as much on a phone call on January 17, 2015 when it stated that about 50% of the Mexican wolves bred in captivity don't survive. Talk about an inhumane and ineffective program. Furthermore, the USFWS engineered wolves that are released into the public have not fared much better and have been involved in numerous incidents where wolves have repeatedly stalked children and our citizens.

"This unlawful, new program poses a serious threat to ranchers and citizens in these regions and may cause significant harm to local economies. The new regulations that were implemented without an appropriation or authorization from Congress, in violation of the Anti-Deficiency Act, defy commonsense as nearly 90% of the wolf's original habitat falls within the border of Mexico. Our bipartisan bill will protect local communities, delist the Mexican wolf and terminate this flawed experimental program."

Representative Steve Pearce (R-NM-02) stated the following after joining Rep. Gosar in introducing the bill: "The so-called "recovery program' of the Mexican wolf is a leading example of why Washington should leave species recovery to the states. The US Fish and Wildlife Service's program ignores public safety concerns, threatens the livelihoods of New Mexico's farmers and ranchers and fails to set a recovery goal (number of wolves) that will lead to a solution. Wolves are natural predators and are devastating livestock populations and putting children and family pets in danger. Yet the Fish and Wildlife Service has recently decided to expand the population area for the wolves without first securing the necessary funding to ensure predator incidents can be prevented. Needless to say, the Fish and Wildlife Service's current program is not effective for wolf recovery and does not provide the kind of accountability the people of New Mexico deserve. Congress must intervene by de-listing the Mexican wolf, eliminating this inadequate "recovery' program and transferring species' protection back to the state of New Mexico."

Source