Animal Advocates Challenge Government Plan to Kill 500,000 Owls

A federal plan to kill nearly half a million birds represents a radical and unlawful approach to species management, two environmental groups allege in a new suit.

Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy on Thursday challenged the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s final approval of the Barred Owl Management Strategy, arguing the plan unfairly labels the species as “invasive” to protect the endangered spotted owl.

The Service violated the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, and the Administrative Procedure Act, the groups alleged in a complaint filed with the US District Court for the Western District of Washington.

“The Service’s effort is underfunded, uncoordinated, poorly designed and doomed to fail,” the suit said.

The agency didn’t offer a compelling justification for the plan’s MBTA permit—a required element under an agreement between the US, Russia, Canada, and Japan to protect migratory bird populations, the suit said.

The plan allows hunting over 24 million acres, including national parks, the complaint said.

The plan’s environmental impact statement concluded lethal removal of barred owls was the only proven strategy to improve the spotted owl’s chances of recovery, according to the complaint.

But this analysis “fails to address the core issues at hand,” including the endangered species’ dramatic habitat loss as a result of deforestation and the risk to other animals who may be mistakenly killed under this plan, the suit said.

The groups are asking the court to vacate the Service’s approval and remand the plan back for further study.

The Fish and Wildlife Service didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The groups are represented by Animal & Earth Advocates PLLC, Greenfire Law PC, and the Center for a Humane Economy.

The case is Animal Wellness Action v. US Fish & Wildlife Serv., W.D. Wash., No. 2:24-cv-1796, complaint filed 10/31/24.