# Trump signs order to remove endangered species protection for grey wolves

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/trump-signs-order-to-remove-endangered-species-protection-for-grey-wolves/
- Published: 2026-09-05T15:37:18+00:00
- Updated: 2026-09-05T21:43:22+00:00
- Original publisher: BBC World (publisher lean: Centre)
- Original article: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c62k677d4lzo?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss
- Topics: Americas, Environment, Government, Politics, Science, World

## Key points

- Trump orders review of endangered status for grey and Mexican wolves
- Move could let ranchers kill wolves preying on livestock
- Conservationists warn it threatens decades of recovery progress

## Summary

Donald Trump has signed an executive order stripping federal endangered species protections from grey wolves and the Mexican wolf subspecies, a move that could eventually allow ranchers to kill the animals to protect livestock. The order describes ranchers as playing a "vital role" in the food supply chain and American cultural heritage, but conservation groups warn it risks undoing decades of recovery work for populations once driven to near-extinction by a government extermination campaign in the late 19th century.

The order does not immediately legalise shooting wolves; instead it gives Interior Secretary Doug Burgum 90 days to decide whether populations have recovered enough to be delisted, a step expected to face legal challenges after a similar 2022 delisting attempt became bogged down in litigation. Mexican wolf numbers have grown from four in 1998 to 319 in 2025, while roughly 18,000 grey wolves remain across the US, though habitat loss keeps them classed as endangered. The administration linked the move to record-high beef prices and a 75-year low in US livestock herds, but conservationists, including the Wolf Conservation Center and Western Watersheds Project, argue wolf attacks on livestock are rare, ranchers are already compensated for losses, and the policy mainly serves as a distraction from other pressures on the industry.

## Coverage

- [BBC World: Trump signs order to remove endangered species protection for grey wolves](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c62k677d4lzo?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss)
- [The Hill: Trump's signs order allowing ranchers to kill wolves to protect herds ](https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/6072956-gray-wolf-endangered-protections-beef-prices/)

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.