Gray wolves are simply trying to survive and want to be left alone in peace in the limited habitat they have left. As apex predators, they keep ecosystems in balance, pruning weak prey and keeping nature’s rhythm steadily beating. But, to many, they’re simply an annoying pest that should be blasted into the history books.
Now Republicans are trying to ensure that gray wolves lose the legal protections that prevent them from being hunted. A harmless-sounding GOP bill called the “Pet and Livestock Protection Act“, sponsored by Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert, demands:
Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary of the Interior shall reissue the final rule entitled “Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants; Removing the Gray Wolf (Canis lupus) From the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife”
Urgent action needed to defend wolves!
— Wilderness Watch (@WildernessWatch) December 15, 2025
The full House could vote this week on Rep Lauren Boebert's so-called “Pet and Livestock Protection Act."
The bill would strip federal ESA protections for wolves, turning "management" over to states.
ACT NOW >>> https://t.co/gnGD0vkRgj pic.twitter.com/R7uGkpmcR9
Supporters (mainly ranchers and hunting groups) insist wolves threaten livestock and must be eradicated from the United States. This references a 2020 directive issued at the tail-end of the first Trump administration that removed wolves from the Endangered Species list on the basis that, as there were now 6,000 of them in the wild, it was fine to begin hunting them once again.
Wolf pack assemble!
Fortunately, in Feb. 2022, a federal court ruling reinstated Endangered Species Act protections for gray wolves in most of the U.S. That news was celebrated by conservationists, scientists, and wildlife lovers, with Professor of Environmental Studies at the University of Wisconsin, Adrian Treves saying them:
“It’s a good day for science, for wolves, for ecosystems, and for the people who value wolves.”
But it appears Boebert has been nursing a grudge against wolves ever since and, as the holiday recess rolls around, she’s hoping to get this through the House this week. It has been noted that it’s curious that this issue manages to get House time, but not ones affecting healthcare:
We have time to vote on a bill this week that allows Lauren Boebert to hunt and kill gray wolves – but no time to vote on a bill to prevent millions of Americans from seeing their premiums spike by double or triple. https://t.co/9idVed8Wxn
— Congresswoman Sara Jacobs (@RepSaraJacobs) December 16, 2025
I’m sure Boebert thinks a taxidermied wolf’s head mounted on her office wall would really bring the place together. I also think she’s underestimated how much people love wolves, know how important they are to preserving ecosystems, or perhaps just appreciate knowing they’re out there, doing their wolfy business.
