119-hr4255

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4255 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 4255

 To remove the Mexican wolf from the lists of threatened species and 
endangered species published pursuant to the Endangered Species Act of 
 1973, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 June 30, 2025

 Mr. Gosar (for himself, Mr. Biggs of Arizona, Ms. Boebert, Mr. Crane, 
Ms. Hageman, Mr. Hamadeh of Arizona, Mr. Hurd of Colorado, Mr. LaMalfa, 
Mr. Stauber, Mr. Tiffany, and Mr. Zinke) introduced the following bill; 
 which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

 To remove the Mexican wolf from the lists of threatened species and 
endangered species published pursuant to the Endangered Species Act of 
 1973, and for other purposes.

 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

 This Act may be cited as the ``Enhancing Safety for Animals Act of 
2025''.

SEC. 2. DELISTING OF MEXICAN WOLF.

    (a) 

=== Findings ===
-The Congress finds the following:

    (1) The Mexican wolf population has increased for 9 
 consecutive years, growing by at least 11 percent in 2024.

    (2) At the end of 2024, the United States Fish and Wildlife 
 Service documented a presence of at least 286 wild Mexican 
 wolves and approximately 350 captive Mexican wolves.

    (3) The United States Mexican Wolf population is thriving 
 and will meet its recovery goals for gene diversity, population 
 growth, and abundance.

    (4) The United States Fish and Wildlife Service has 
 repeatedly moved Mexican wolf recovery goalposts through 
 amended recovery plans, revised population and genetic 
 objectives, and reduced mitigation opportunities.

    (5) Current United States Fish and Wildlife recovery 
 strategies and goals encompass not only the Mexican wolf 
 population in the United States, but also in Mexico.

    (6) Americans in the Mexican Wolf Experimental Population 
 Area bear the brunt of a rapidly growing United States Mexican 
 wolf population without any chance of recovery because of 
 failing conservation activities in Mexico, a foreign country.

    (7) Mexican wolves in the United States routinely kill 
 livestock, pose serious safety risks to humans and pets, 
 excessively prey upon game animals, and reduce recreational 
 opportunities.

    (8) Depredation of cattle, horses, and other livestock by 
 Mexican wolves financially burdens American farmers and 
 ranchers living in and near the Mexican Wolf Experimental 
 Population Area.

    (9) Rather than streamline Mexican wolf depredation 
 evidentiary standards to ensure ranchers are properly 
 compensated for livestock losses, the Wildlife Services 
 division of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service 
 imposed for a year a new standard requiring that subcutaneous 
 hemorrhaging be present on carcasses as a condition of 
 confirming that an animal was killed by a Mexican wolf.

    (10) Confirming that livestock were killed by Mexican 
 wolves is often impossible under the newly adopted evidentiary 
 standard because livestock grazing areas in and near the 
 Mexican Wolf Experimental Population Area are often thousands 
 of acres in size, depredations are commonly only discovered 
 days after they occur, scavengers often devour livestock 
 carcasses along with depredation evidence, and subcutaneous 
 hemorrhaging remains preset for a short period of time 
 following depredation.

    (11) Requiring evidence of subcutaneous hemorrhaging is 
 inconsistent with other widely accepted depredation evidentiary 
 standards like bite marks, tracks, and signs of struggle, and 
 significantly reduces the ability for livestock owners to be 
 made whole financially after suffering losses through Mexican 
 wolf depredation.

    (12) The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service's 
 opaque depredation evidentiary standards are not subject to a 
 public notice and comment process but are nevertheless blindly 
 adopted by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.

    (13) The United States Fish and Wildlife Service has 
 refused to take or approve sufficient lethal removal actions 
 against Mexican wolves despite the deaths, injuries, and damage 
 caused by Mexican wolves leading to at least 2 counties within 
 the Mexican Wolf Experimental Population Area declaring a 
 public disaster and emergency, and at least 1 Tribal government 
 formally supporting such declaration

    (b) Delisting of Mexican Wolf.--Notwithstanding any other provision 
of law, the Mexican wolf (Canis lupus baileyi) is removed from the 
lists of threatened species and endangered species, as applicable, that 
are published pursuant to 

section 4 of the Endangered Species Act of 
1973 (16 U.S.C. 1533).
            (c) Nullification of Rules Relating to Mexican Wolf.--The following 
final rules issued by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service with 
respect to the Mexican wolf shall have no force or effect:

    (1) The final rule titled ``Endangered and Threatened 
 Wildlife and Plants; Endangered Status for the Mexican Wolf'' 
 (80 Fed. Reg. 2488; published January 16, 2015).

    (2) The final rule titled ``Endangered and Threatened 
 Wildlife and Plants; Revision to the Nonessential Experimental 
 Population of the Mexican Wolf'' (87 Fed. Reg. 39348; published 
 July 1, 2022).
            (d) Bifurcation of Mexican Wolf Population Criteria.--If the 
Mexican wolf (Canis lupus baileyi) is listed as a threatened species or 
an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 
U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) after the date of the enactment of this section, 
the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director of the 
United States Fish and Wildlife Service, may not reference or otherwise 
consider--

    (1) the status of the recovery of the Mexican wolf in 
 Mexico in developing or implementing under 

section 4

    (f) of that 
 Act (16 U.S.C. 1533

    (f) ) a plan for the Mexican wolf; or

    (2) the status of the Mexican wolf in Mexico in determining 
 under 

section 4
            (c) of that Act (16 U.S.C. 1533
            (c) ) whether the 
 Mexican wolf should be--
        (A) changed in status from an endangered species to 
 a threatened species;
        (B) changed in status from a threatened species to 
 an endangered species; or
            (C) removed from the lists of threatened species 
 and endangered species, as applicable, that are 
 published pursuant to 

section 4 of the Endangered 
 Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1533).
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