US Fish & Wildlife Service May Add Common Hippos To Endangered Species Act

[jpr9954]

The US Fish and Wildlife Service received a petition from the Humane Society of the US, Humane Society Legislative Fund, Humane Society International, and the Center for Biodiversity to add four species including the common hippopotamus to the Endangered Species Act list.

Below is their press release on it.

Service completes initial reviews on Endangered Species Act petitions for four species
Mar 20, 2023
Media Contacts
Public Affairs HQ
FALLS CHURCH, Va. – The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has completed its 90-day findings on petitions to list four species under the Endangered Species Act. Based on our review, we find the petitions to list the Morro Bay polyphyllan scarab beetle, Inyo rock daisy, common hippopotamus, and roughhead shiner present substantial information indicating the petitioned actions may be warranted, and we will initiate status reviews for these species.
The Morro Bay polyphyllan scarab beetle is endemic to an ecosystem with Baywood fine sand (a soil type) in Los Osos of San Luis Obispo County, California, and its immediate vicinity. Based on our review of the petition and readily available information regarding urban development, we find the petition presents substantial scientific or commercial information indicating that listing the Morro Bay polyphyllan scarab beetle as a threatened or endangered species may be warranted.
The Inyo rock daisy is a member of the sunflower family. This perennial grows on limestone outcrops, cliff faces or scree slopes within pinyon pine woodland, Joshua tree woodland or sagebrush shrubland in portions of the southern Inyo Mountains of Inyo County, California. Based on our review of the petition and readily available information regarding mining, development, invasive plant species and climate change , we find the petition presents substantial scientific or commercial information indicating the petitioned action to list the Inyo rock daisy as an endangered or threatened species may be warranted.
Based on our review of the petition and readily available information, we find the petition to list the common hippopotamus presents substantial scientific or commercial information indicating the listing may be warranted due to potential threats associated with habitat loss and degradation due to land conversion and urbanization, demand for irrigation and water, climate change and war. The petitioners also presented information suggesting overutilization from legal international trade and poaching, disease and predation, and traditional and medicinal use of hippopotamus parts may be threats to the common hippopotamus and that existing regulatory mechanisms, particularly as they pertain to trade and poaching, may be inadequate to address the impacts of these threats.

The roughhead shiner is a small olive-colored minnow, named for the distinctive bumps on its head, that is endemic to the Ridge and Valley Province of the upper James River drainage in western Virginia. It lives in creeks and rivers in clear rocky pools near flowing water and is occasionally found in swifter water. Based on our review of the petition and readily available information regarding habitat modification from siltation and/or contamination and competition from the introduced telescope shiner, we find that the petition presents substantial scientific or commercial information indicating that listing the roughhead shiner as a threatened or endangered species may be warranted.
The ESA allows citizens to petition the Service to add species to the ESA list, remove species from the list, and to reclassify species already on the list. The Service endeavors to issue a finding on a petition within 90 days of the petition’s receipt.
The announcement comes as the ESA turns 50 years old in 2023. Throughout the year, the Department of the Interior is celebrating the ESA's importance in preventing imperiled species' extinction, promoting the recovery of wildlife and conserving the habitats upon which they depend.
Substantial 90-day findings represent a relatively low bar, requiring only the petitioner to provide information the petition may be warranted. The next steps to arrive at a 12-month finding involve in-depth status reviews and analyses using the best available science and information. The public can play an important role by sharing relevant information with the Service.
The Federal Register docket numbers and links for the substantial petition findings in this batch are:

Common Name	Range	Docket Number	Docket link on https://www.regulations.gov
Morro Bay polyphyllan scarab beetle	California	FWS-R8-ES-2022-0159	https://www.regulations.gov/FWS-HQ-ES-2022-0158
Inyo rock daisy	California	FWS-R8-ES-2022-0160	https://www.regulations.gov/FWS-R8-ES-2022-0160
Roughhead shiner	Virginia	FWS-R5-ES-2022-0161	https://www.regulations.gov/FWS-R5-ES-2022-0161
Common hippopotamus	Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Eswatini (Swaziland), Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe; It is unknown if common hippos still occur in Sudan	FWS-HQ-ES-2022-0158	https://www.regulations.gov/FWS-HQ-ES-2022-0158

The notice for the above findings will be available in the Federal Register Reading Room on Monday, March 20 at https://www.federalregister.gov/public-inspection.
For more information on the ESA listing process, including 90-day findings and status reviews, please go to https://www.fws.gov/media/listing-species-threatened-or-endangered
-FWS-

I have attached their findings as PDF to this post.

 

[jpr9954]

The release from the anti-hunting groups seeking to add the hippo to the Endangered Species Act list.

For Immediate Release, March 20, 2023

Contact:

Tanya Sanerib, Center for Biological Diversity, (206) 379-7363, tsanerib@biologicaldiversity.org Rodi Rosensweig, The Humane Society of the United States/Humane Society International/Humane Society Legislative Fund, (202) 809-8711, RRosensweig@humanesociety.org

Hippos Move Step Closer to Endangered Species Act Protections

In Response to Petition, U.S. Officials Consider Protecting Hippos​

WASHINGTON— After a petition and threat to sue from animal protection and conservation groups, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today announced that the common hippopotamus may qualify for protection under the Endangered Species Act.

In March 2022, Humane Society International, the Humane Society of the United States, Humane Society Legislative Fund and the Center for Biological Diversity filed a petition seeking federal protections for this iconic species, which is disappearing from the wild.

After the Service missed its June 2022 deadline to respond to the petition, the groups sent notice of their intent to sue on World Hippo day. Today’s announcement from the agency provides the legally required initial response.

Hippos are threatened by habitat loss and degradation, drought, poaching, and the international demand for hippo parts, including teeth, skulls, ivory, skin and meat.

“This is an important first step towards saving hippos by providing the protections they so badly need under the Endangered Species Act,” said Adam Peyman, wildlife programs director for Humane Society International, speaking on behalf of HSI and the HSUS. “These animals face threats from climate change, poaching and the commercial demand for their skin, bones, teeth and other parts and products. Protections for hippos cannot come soon enough.”

International trade in hippo parts and products is significant, with the United States playing an outsized role. Between 2009 and 2018, the United States imported thousands of hippo parts and products, including more than 9,000 teeth, 700 skin pieces, 4,400 small leather products, 2,000 trophies and 1,700 carvings. Combined, these imports represent a minimum of 3,081 hippos killed to fuel the legal U.S. trade, which remains unchecked because of the absence of Endangered Species Act protections for the species.

“With the many clear threats they’re facing, hippos are a shoo-in for Endangered Species Act protections, but the Biden administration dilly-dallied an extra nine months before making this finding,” said Tanya Sanerib, international legal director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “This hippo delay is just the tip of the iceberg, and it highlights that the Biden administration isn’t doing nearly enough to combat the burgeoning extinction crisis. If iconic species like hippos are waiting in purgatory for protections, that doesn’t bode well for the future of life on Earth.”

Across many parts of the United States, hippo parts and products are readily available for purchase. A 2022 undercover investigation by HSI and the HSUS revealed thousands of items made from hippo parts for sale in the United States. Products made from hippo leather, such as belts, shoes and purses, and items made from hippo ivory, such as carvings and handles on knives and bottle openers, were among the most common items found for sale.

Trophies, such as shoulder mounts (the animal’s head and neck) and mounted teeth, were also available for purchase. Some of these items may have been illegally acquired or traded due to the lack of effective regulatory enforcement.

The Endangered Species Act protections that the groups are seeking would place near-total restrictions on most commercial imports and sales of hippo specimens and raise public awareness and increase funding to achieve the law’s conservation goals.

“We are pleased to see the Biden administration’s announcement toward listing this iconic species,” says Tracie Letterman, vice president of federal affairs at Humane Society Legislative Fund. “For the last 50 years, the Endangered Species Act has helped save 99% of listed species from extinction. We look forward to supporting the administration in its work to ensure the protection of the hippo and other imperiled species for decades to come.”

Under federal law, the Service must next decide whether Endangered Species Act listing is warranted. Given its delay in providing an initial response to the petition, the agency will likely miss its deadline for this second determination — due in four days’ time. The groups will continue to closely monitor the progress of the petition during the next phase of the process.

 

[BourbonTrail]

FFS

 

[Hunt anything]

So USFWS is adding species on potential habitat loss and other things that might happen. We’re doomed!

 

[Sue Tidwell]

The release from the anti-hunting groups seeking to add the hippo to the Endangered Species Act list.

For Immediate Release, March 20, 2023

Contact:

Tanya Sanerib, Center for Biological Diversity, (206) 379-7363, tsanerib@biologicaldiversity.org Rodi Rosensweig, The Humane Society of the United States/Humane Society International/Humane Society Legislative Fund, (202) 809-8711, RRosensweig@humanesociety.org

Hippos Move Step Closer to Endangered Species Act Protections
In Response to Petition, U.S. Officials Consider Protecting Hippos​

WASHINGTON— After a petition and threat to sue from animal protection and conservation groups, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today announced that the common hippopotamus may qualify for protection under the Endangered Species Act.

In March 2022, Humane Society International, the Humane Society of the United States, Humane Society Legislative Fund and the Center for Biological Diversity filed a petition seeking federal protections for this iconic species, which is disappearing from the wild.

After the Service missed its June 2022 deadline to respond to the petition, the groups sent notice of their intent to sue on World Hippo day. Today’s announcement from the agency provides the legally required initial response.

Hippos are threatened by habitat loss and degradation, drought, poaching, and the international demand for hippo parts, including teeth, skulls, ivory, skin and meat.

“This is an important first step towards saving hippos by providing the protections they so badly need under the Endangered Species Act,” said Adam Peyman, wildlife programs director for Humane Society International, speaking on behalf of HSI and the HSUS. “These animals face threats from climate change, poaching and the commercial demand for their skin, bones, teeth and other parts and products. Protections for hippos cannot come soon enough.”

International trade in hippo parts and products is significant, with the United States playing an outsized role. Between 2009 and 2018, the United States imported thousands of hippo parts and products, including more than 9,000 teeth, 700 skin pieces, 4,400 small leather products, 2,000 trophies and 1,700 carvings. Combined, these imports represent a minimum of 3,081 hippos killed to fuel the legal U.S. trade, which remains unchecked because of the absence of Endangered Species Act protections for the species.

“With the many clear threats they’re facing, hippos are a shoo-in for Endangered Species Act protections, but the Biden administration dilly-dallied an extra nine months before making this finding,” said Tanya Sanerib, international legal director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “This hippo delay is just the tip of the iceberg, and it highlights that the Biden administration isn’t doing nearly enough to combat the burgeoning extinction crisis. If iconic species like hippos are waiting in purgatory for protections, that doesn’t bode well for the future of life on Earth.”

Across many parts of the United States, hippo parts and products are readily available for purchase. A 2022 undercover investigation by HSI and the HSUS revealed thousands of items made from hippo parts for sale in the United States. Products made from hippo leather, such as belts, shoes and purses, and items made from hippo ivory, such as carvings and handles on knives and bottle openers, were among the most common items found for sale.

Trophies, such as shoulder mounts (the animal’s head and neck) and mounted teeth, were also available for purchase. Some of these items may have been illegally acquired or traded due to the lack of effective regulatory enforcement.

The Endangered Species Act protections that the groups are seeking would place near-total restrictions on most commercial imports and sales of hippo specimens and raise public awareness and increase funding to achieve the law’s conservation goals.

“We are pleased to see the Biden administration’s announcement toward listing this iconic species,” says Tracie Letterman, vice president of federal affairs at Humane Society Legislative Fund. “For the last 50 years, the Endangered Species Act has helped save 99% of listed species from extinction. We look forward to supporting the administration in its work to ensure the protection of the hippo and other imperiled species for decades to come.”

Under federal law, the Service must next decide whether Endangered Species Act listing is warranted. Given its delay in providing an initial response to the petition, the agency will likely miss its deadline for this second determination — due in four days’ time. The groups will continue to closely monitor the progress of the petition during the next phase of the process.

Thanks for sharing. This is so frustrating and infuriating. They rake in the money with such claims….do nothing to help improve or create habitat…and destroy the tried and true method of safe habitat. Hopefully the FS will come to its senses.

 

[Tanner Lee]

Quick question. If I understood the first post they want to protect a sunflower, a minnow, a beetle and hippos? What a weird mix to submit at the same time don’t you think?

 

[Hunt anything]

Quick question. If I understood the first post they want to protect a sunflower, a minnow, a beetle and hippos? What a weird mix to submit at the same time don’t you think?

Tanner, your looking for logic in the US government, forget about it, common sense has become a superpower.

 

[jpr9954]

Tanner, your looking for logic in the US government, forget about it, common sense has become a superpower.

As well as logic from the HSUS.

 

[Tanner Lee]

Tanner, your looking for logic in the US government, forget about it, common sense has become a superpower.

Oh, I completely agree I just think it is hilarious that they included the hippo in that line up.

It makes me laugh think about how they present that proposal.

 

[rgsiii]

Tanner, your looking for logic in the US government, forget about it, common sense has become a superpower.

Actually, common sense has become a negative. You would loose your job in minutes. LOL

 

[Elkeater]

What always seems odd to me in these matters is why the U.S. can impose these types of things on species that live on another continent. I mean I don’t necessarily disagree that some species in the U.S. such as things like wolverines or lynx in the lower 48 should be protected (not used as a weapon to stop other things). I don’t really see why it’s our business to list a species like hippo that doesn’t live within our borders. Let the local governments decide if they need to be endangered. That assumes they can do something like that in the various African countries which I know very little about as I’m very much still learning about Africa.

anyone know any good books on African conservation?

 

[Hunt anything]

If an African govt wants to protect a species they declare it royal game and it’s not hunted ( I’ve heard ) of course this wouldn’t stop the real problem which is poaching. I wish Mozambique would try to tell the USFWS how to manage migratory birds or whitetail deer and get their reaction.

 

[sgt_zim]

FFS

My exact sentiment. Oh RUFKM???

 

[Scott CWO]

It’s a fallacy and just more anti hunting BS. Everywhere I’ve been, there’s hippos galore.

 

[jpr9954]

If an African govt wants to protect a species they declare it royal game and it’s not hunted ( I’ve heard ) of course this wouldn’t stop the real problem which is poaching. I wish Mozambique would try to tell the USFWS how to manage migratory birds or whitetail deer and get their reaction.

If I remember correctly, the reason there is a season on crows is because Mexico insisted that they be included in a migratory bird treaty with the US.

 

[Hunt anything]

If I remember correctly, the reason there is a season on crows is because Mexico insisted that they be included in a migratory bird treaty with the US.

You are correct, In my opinion the migratory bird act of 1939 was needed for the sole reason is ducks, geese and swans cross international borders. Some cooperation is needed but Mexico and Canada have much more liberal limits than us but to me a dead duck in the US is as same as a dead duck in Mexico or Canada. I know it’s a hunting pressure thing. In Alabama our crow ” season “ is 365 days and no limits but have seen some regulatory dates in other states.

 

[PARA45]

It’s a fallacy and just more anti hunting BS. Everywhere I’ve been, there’s hippos galore.

I agree with you 100%, but how do we convince the idiots making the decisions/laws to "protect" these animals?

 

[PhotoCollector73]

I agree with you 100%, but how do we convince the idiots making the decisions/laws to "protect" these animals?

The only real way to convince USFWS is through social media campaigning. Otherwise, they're only going to listen to the big bullies, that being the ARA and HSI. That, and informing the middle-ground A.K.A. the majority on what hunting really is. Once more of those kinds of people are educated as to the benefits of hunting, defending hunting becomes a whole lot easier. I'm actually happy to say that hunting has received quite the PR boost in just the past few years, in comparison to say 10-15 years when people would look at you with shifty eyes if you said you hunt.

It's easy to form your opinion based on the sensationalist titles in the MSM, but if you were to ask the average person what they thought of hunting, their answer might surprise you. This is thanks to organizations such as Blood Origins, HOWl, and even Meat Eater with their presence on all things hunting-related on social media. That doesn't mean we should become complacent, however. If anything, we should be taking a proactive approach. The ARAs thrive off of stereotypes and nothing else. Once those stereotypes are challenged, their influence diminishes greatly.

 

[PeteG]

The only real way to convince USFWS is through social media campaigning. Otherwise, they're only going to listen to the big bullies, that being the ARA and HSI. That, and informing the middle-ground A.K.A. the majority on what hunting really is. Once more of those kinds of people are educated as to the benefits of hunting, defending hunting becomes a whole lot easier. I'm actually happy to say that hunting has received quite the PR boost in just the past few years, in comparison to say 10-15 years when people would look at you with shifty eyes if you said you hunt.

It's easy to form your opinion based on the sensationalist titles in the MSM, but if you were to ask the average person what they thought of hunting, their answer might surprise you. This is thanks to organizations such as Blood Origins, HOWl, and even Meat Eater with their presence on all things hunting-related on social media. That doesn't mean we should become complacent, however. If anything, we should be taking a proactive approach. The ARAs thrive off of stereotypes and nothing else. Once those stereotypes are challenged, their influence diminishes greatly.

i disagree on this.
social media will only take it so far.

surveys and studies are going to have to be done to prove that hunting is not detrimental to the current status of hippo.

such studies will have to focus on quotas, populations, stability of residents per area, human wildlife conflict and human encroachment eroding natural habitat.

we as hunters, outfitters, concession owners and property owners will have to defend our position and clearly prove scientifically that there is a case in favour of maintaining the current status and that these studies prove the hunting areas/ranches/farms are positive contributors to the overall situation.

social media gets these anti groups to be heard, but scientific studies in favour of hunting will ensure that the decision goes the right way.

 

[Hunt anything]

PeteG your premis is how it SHOULD work but with our USFWS of today they follow emotions and heart strings not science. I hope I’m wrong but with their recent track record it is doubtful.