Trump signs order to remove endangered species protection for grey wolves
The US president says the move will help ranchers, but conservationists say it could derail efforts to recover populations.
Trump signs order to strip endangered species protections from grey wolves
Donald Trump has signed an executive order removing endangered species protection for the grey wolf and a subspecies, the Mexican wolf.
The US president’s move could open the door for pastoral farmers to kill the animals in order to protect livestock. His order said ranchers played a “vital role” in the food supply chain and American cultural heritage.
Conservation groups, however, have condemned the decision, warning that it could undermine long-term efforts to restore endangered wolf populations.
US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) figures show there were 319 Mexican wolves in the wild in the US in 2025, up from just four when they were reintroduced in 1998.
There are also about 18,000 grey wolves across the US, although they are still classified as endangered because humans have destroyed most of their habitat.
A federal attempt to remove them from the list in 2022 became bogged down in litigation, and some campaigners have said they plan to do the same if the US Department of Interior acts on Trump’s order.
The executive order does not immediately allow ranchers to shoot wolves attacking livestock. Instead, it gives Interior Secretary Doug Burgum 90 days to decide whether the grey and Mexican wolf populations have recovered enough to justify removing them from the endangered species list.
Citing US livestock herds at a 75-year low while beef demand had climbed 10% over the past decade, the order said: “More can and should be done to support this critical industry.”
Environmental groups, meanwhile, pointed to studies suggesting wolf attacks on livestock are uncommon and have little effect on ranchers’ income.
“This is a huge distraction to placate a handful of ranchers and make them believe that wolves are a greater threat than President Trump’s own policies,” said Greta Anderson, deputy director of Western Watersheds Project, which works to conserve wildlife in western US states.
The Wolf Conservation Center said ranchers can receive up to 100% compensation for livestock losses caused by wolves under the current system, with individual states funding programmes designed to deter attacks.
“The Mexican grey wolf is not recovered simply because the population has grown,” said Claire Musser, executive director of the Grand Canyon Wolf Recovery Project. “Weakening federal protections now would put decades of recovery work at risk.”
The executive order comes as the Trump administration seeks to bring down record-high beef prices for consumers, which have been driven by drought and an outbreak of parasites in US beef stocks.
Ranchers have been angered by Trump’s decision to ease restrictions on beef imports to tackle price increases, adding pressure to their already narrow margins.
In the late 19th Century, the US government launched a campaign to systematically wipe out wolves. That effort, together with farmers and landowners trapping and killing wolves, drove them to the brink of eradication.
Ranchers still regard them as a nuisance, and killing them is a federal crime.