Safari Club International (SCI) applauds today’s Executive Order directing the U.S. Department of the Interior to evaluate whether gray wolves and Mexican wolves should remain listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).

For decades, SCI has advocated that recovered wolf populations should be managed by the states rather than under continued federal protection. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has repeatedly reached the same conclusion. Since 2003, under both Republican and Democratic administrations, the Service has sought to downlist or delist gray wolves based on the best available science, consistently finding that populations have exceeded recovery goals and no longer warrant ESA protection.

Gray wolves are biologically recovered across much of their range. More than 4,200 wolves inhabit the Great Lakes states, while over 2,700 occupy western states spanning at least 11 states. These populations are connected to more than 10,000 wolves in Canada, demonstrating both broad geographic distribution and healthy genetic exchange. Mexican wolf populations have also seen substantial growth in the past decade.

The recovery of wolf populations has brought increased conflicts with livestock producers, rural communities, and sportsmen. In Wisconsin alone, wolves killed or injured more than 100 domestic animals in 2024. In Colorado, depredation from recently reintroduced wolves has already exceeded the state’s compensation program, impacting rural economies and local food sources.

“Today’s Executive Order represents an important step toward ensuring that wildlife management decisions are guided by sound science and biological reality,” said SCI President Jeff Meyerl. “The evidence overwhelmingly demonstrates that gray wolf populations have recovered and that states have the tools, expertise, and proven track record necessary to ensure their long-term conservation.”

SCI also supports efforts to modernize Department of the Interior and U.S. Department of Agriculture policies governing compensation for livestock losses caused by predators and to streamline authorization for lethal removal when necessary to address chronic depredation and protect rural livelihoods.

“Conservation success should be recognized and celebrated,” Meyerl added. “Gray wolf recovery is one of North America’s greatest wildlife conservation achievements. SCI applauds the Administration for directing a science-based review of wolf listings and taking steps to ensure that wildlife management is driven by biological realities rather than decades of litigation. Recovered wolf populations belong under state management, where conservation success can continue while balancing the needs of wildlife, hunters, ranchers, and rural communities.” Read more

On Monday afternoon, the U.S. Senate came close to recognizing the conservation success of gray wolves. After decades of recovery efforts, wolf populations have exceeded recovery goals and now thrive across the lower 48 states, Canada, and Alaska. Yet federal protections remain in place after years of litigation overturning science-based delisting decisions.

SCI thanks Senator Ron Johnson for his leadership in advancing science-based wildlife management and submitting a bill that would have reinstated the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s rule removing gray wolves from the Endangered Species Act lists for unanimous consent. SCI is disappointed that an objection by Senator Cory Booker blocked this effort to restore state management authority for recovered wolf populations. Wildlife professionals, ranchers, hunters, and rural communities continue to face growing challenges as wolf populations expand, including livestock losses, increased conflicts, and impacts on big game herds in some regions.

SCI urges the Senate to take up S. 1306, legislation that would remove gray wolves from the Endangered Species Act and return management authority to the states.

On Thursday, Aug. 5, the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry will mark-up Committee Chairman Senator John Boozman’s (R-AR) draft text for his proposed Farm Bill. Importantly, after tireless advocacy by the Sportsmen’s Alliance, its members and affiliates, and strong Congressional leadership, anti-hunting language that was amended into the House Farm Bill previously was removed and is absent from the Senate draft.

However, the attacks from animal extremists continue, and at least three animal-rights amendments have been offered for committee consideration at tomorrow’s hearing, it’s vital that the committee-approved Farm Bill does not include anti-hunting or extreme animal-rights language.

To ensure a clean Farm Bill, use the Take Action button to ask the Senate Agriculture Committee to opposes these proposed amendments:

CLICK HERE TO TAKE ACTION

The Greyhound Protection Act

The Greyhound Protection Act of 2025 (H.R. 5017) was amended into the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026 (Farm Bill) in mid-March. That bill, backed by animal-rights extremist Wayne Pacelle, goes so far as to impact everyone who hunts with a dog – from bird dogs to scent hounds – by banning the use of live-animals in training. Ultimately, efforts by the Sportsmen’s Alliance, our members, and a coalition of our partners, fixed the anti-hunting concerns of the amendment, but the prohibition on greyhound racing remains.

• Bottom Line: The greyhound racing ban has been offered for amendment into the Senate version of the Farm Bill. While the anti-hunting language is not present, the amendment could still greatly impact breed lineages used in open-field coursing throughout the country.

The FIGHT Act

The Fighting Inhumane Gambling and High-risk Trafficking Act of 2025 (FIGHT Act, S. 1454) is deceptively crafted to appear to address inhumane dog and cock fighting. However, the bill goes much further. It creates a private citizen right of action utilized by animal-rights extremists to sue livestock owners (and receive attorney’s fees), calls for draconian asset forfeiture and property seizure, and places barnyard animals (roosters) under the purview of the Animal Welfare Act.

• Bottom Line: Ultimately, the amendment provides nothing more than a slippery slope for the animal-rights movement to gain momentum to apply the same restrictions on the hunting, wildlife management, and agricultural communities.

The SAFE Act

The Save America’s Forgotten Equines Act of 2025 (SAFE Act, S. 775) would affect both the small market for sales of privately-owned horses and worsen the huge problem of controlling feral horses on federal public land. The Bureau of Land Management estimates the population of wild horses and burros across the federal estate is over three times the Appropriate Management Level. The ecological impact is devastating – rangelands and riparian areas are degraded, forage and water resources depleted, and native wildlife are displaced.

• Bottom Line: The SAFE Act permanently enshrines incredibly burdensome management restrictions, perpetuating and exacerbating the crisis on America’s rangelands.

CLICK HERE TO TAKE ACTION

The Senate Ag Committee will adopt some variant of the draft tomorrow, and it’s vital that the committee-approved Farm Bill does not include anti-hunting or animal-rights language. The committee bill will then go to the full Senate, and upon passage, leadership in both the House and Senate will reconcile each chamber’s version to pass a final, unified Farm Bill. The Sportsmen’s Alliance will continue to work with both chambers to ensure that the passage of a much-needed Farm Bill does not include anti-hunting or extreme animal-rights language.

As sportsmen, we are the true frontline guardians of a lifestyle that is increasingly coming under political fire. While we are actively funding conservation and managing the land, anti-sportsmen groups are busy filling public hearings to erase our way of life. The threats we face today are unprecedented. It is time for our community to stand together, match their energy, and fiercely protect our right to hunt, fish, and trap. This is how we ensure the legacy we inherited is preserved for our children, grandchildren, and generations to come. Read more

Safari Club International (SCI) expressed its disappointment after an objection by Senator Cory Booker prevented the Senate from advancing an effort to remove gray wolves from the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and return management authority to the states.

Gray wolf recovery represents one of the nation’s greatest conservation success stories. After decades of conservation efforts, wolf populations have far exceeded recovery goals. Thousands of wolves now inhabit the lower 48 states and connect with healthy populations throughout Canada and Alaska. But despite this remarkable recovery, gray wolves remain listed under the ESA, largely due to years of litigation that have repeatedly overturned science-based delisting decisions.

“The science is clear: gray wolves have recovered,” said SCI CEO W. Laird Hamberlin. “It is deeply disappointing that efforts to restore state management were blocked despite overwhelming evidence that recovery goals have been achieved and exceeded.”

As wolf populations continue to expand, wildlife managers, ranchers, and rural communities are facing growing challenges. Livestock depredation, increased conflicts with domestic animals, and declining big game populations in some regions have placed significant burdens on local communities and state wildlife agencies. In parts of the West, expanding wolf populations have contributed to substantial declines in elk and other ungulate herds, reducing hunting opportunities and impacting local economies. Read more

The Farm Bill is one of the most important pieces of legislation considered by the U.S. Congress. It contains funding and sets policy on items ranging from conservation programs valued by American sportsmen to SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) benefits that help feed low-income families.

Unfortunately, thanks to significant pressure from the animal-rights lobby, the Farm Bill just approved by the House Committee on Agriculture also includes a hunting ban. Committee Democrats teamed up with a handful of Republican legislators to amend the Farm Bill by inserting House Resolution 5017, the Greyhound Protection Act of 2025 – a bill that had no chance of advancing on its own.

H.R. 5017 would ban certain types of hounds in hunting, as well as the use of “live lures” for training or field trials. While H.R. 5017 was completely portrayed by the sponsor and supporters as only focused on ending commercial greyhound racing, the language is much more broadly written and would ban the use of sight hounds in hunting. Additionally, the language included in H.R. 5017 could go so far to impact anyone that hunts with bird dogs or scent hounds by banning the use of live animals in dog training. Amendment supporters never told Committee members of the broader impacts of the bill.

Animal rights extremists, with the help of members of the House Agriculture Committee, inserted the controversial language into the Farm Bill by voice vote, despite concerns expressed by Committee Chairman GT Thompson, with no public debate or an opportunity for American hunters or houndsmen to be heard in the process. The extremists know the public is counting on passage of the Farm Bill, so they are hoping Congress will allow the anti-hunting language to remain in the bill rather than derail the huge and vital legislation.

All is not final, however. The Farm Bill will now head to the House Rules Committee, before being voted on by the full House of Representatives. Read more