Trump signs order to strip wolf protections, tells ranchers to shoot

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Friday to begin stripping endangered species protections from gray wolves and Mexican wolves, according to a report by HuffPost.

The order directs Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to determine whether the animals meet recovery criteria before beginning delisting. Despite neither species being delisted yet, Trump told ranchers at the Oval Office they could “shoot ’em as of today,” prompting Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins to clarify that Burgum must first complete the required process.

The first Trump administration removed wolf protections in 2020, later restored by a court ruling. Humane World for Animals CEO Kitty Block condemned the order, warning it could “jeopardize decades of recovery.”