H.R. 4255

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4255 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4255

To remove the Mexican wolf from the lists of threatened species and 
endangered species published pursuant to the Endangered Species Act of 
1973, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

June 30, 2025

Mr. Gosar (for himself, Mr. Biggs of Arizona, Ms. Boebert, Mr. Crane, 
Ms. Hageman, Mr. Hamadeh of Arizona, Mr. Hurd of Colorado, Mr. LaMalfa, 
Mr. Stauber, Mr. Tiffany, and Mr. Zinke) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

A BILL

To remove the Mexican wolf from the lists of threatened species and 
endangered species published pursuant to the Endangered Species Act of 
1973, and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ``Enhancing Safety for Animals Act of 
2025''.

SEC. 2. DELISTING OF MEXICAN WOLF.

(a) Findings.--The Congress finds the following:
(1) The Mexican wolf population has increased for 9 
consecutive years, growing by at least 11 percent in 2024.
(2) At the end of 2024, the United States Fish and Wildlife 
Service documented a presence of at least 286 wild Mexican 
wolves and approximately 350 captive Mexican wolves.
(3) The United States Mexican Wolf population is thriving 
and will meet its recovery goals for gene diversity, population 
growth, and abundance.
(4) The United States Fish and Wildlife Service has 
repeatedly moved Mexican wolf recovery goalposts through 
amended recovery plans, revised population and genetic 
objectives, and reduced mitigation opportunities.
(5) Current United States Fish and Wildlife recovery 
strategies and goals encompass not only the Mexican wolf 
population in the United States, but also in Mexico.
(6) Americans in the Mexican Wolf Experimental Population 
Area bear the brunt of a rapidly growing United States Mexican 
wolf population without any chance of recovery because of 
failing conservation activities in Mexico, a foreign country.
(7) Mexican wolves in the United States routinely kill 
livestock, pose serious safety risks to humans and pets, 
excessively prey upon game animals, and reduce recreational 
opportunities.
(8) Depredation of cattle, horses, and other livestock by 
Mexican wolves financially burdens American farmers and 
ranchers living in and near the Mexican Wolf Experimental 
Population Area.
(9) Rather than streamline Mexican wolf depredation 
evidentiary standards to ensure ranchers are properly 
compensated for livestock losses, the Wildlife Services 
division of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service 
imposed for a year a new standard requiring that subcutaneous 
hemorrhaging be present on carcasses as a condition of 
confirming that an animal was killed by a Mexican wolf.
(10) Confirming that livestock were killed by Mexican 
wolves is often impossible under the newly adopted evidentiary 
standard because livestock grazing areas in and near the 
Mexican Wolf Experimental Population Area are often thousands 
of acres in size, depredations are commonly only discovered 
days after they occur, scavengers often devour livestock 
carcasses along with depredation evidence, and subcutaneous 
hemorrhaging remains preset for a short period of time 
following depredation.
(11) Requiring evidence of subcutaneous hemorrhaging is 
inconsistent with other widely accepted depredation evidentiary 
standards like bite marks, tracks, and signs of struggle, and 
significantly reduces the ability for livestock owners to be 
made whole financially after suffering losses through Mexican 
wolf depredation.
(12) The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service's 
opaque depredation evidentiary standards are not subject to a 
public notice and comment process but are nevertheless blindly 
adopted by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service.
(13) The United States Fish and Wildlife Service has 
refused to take or approve sufficient lethal removal actions 
against Mexican wolves despite the deaths, injuries, and damage 
caused by Mexican wolves leading to at least 2 counties within 
the Mexican Wolf Experimental Population Area declaring a 
public disaster and emergency, and at least 1 Tribal government 
formally supporting such declaration
(b) Delisting of Mexican Wolf.--Notwithstanding any other provision 
of law, the Mexican wolf (Canis lupus baileyi) is removed from the 
lists of threatened species and endangered species, as applicable, that 
are published pursuant to section 4 of the Endangered Species Act of 
1973 (16 U.S.C. 1533).
(c) Nullification of Rules Relating to Mexican Wolf.--The following 
final rules issued by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service with 
respect to the Mexican wolf shall have no force or effect:
(1) The final rule titled ``Endangered and Threatened 
Wildlife and Plants; Endangered Status for the Mexican Wolf'' 
(80 Fed. Reg. 2488; published January 16, 2015).
(2) The final rule titled ``Endangered and Threatened 
Wildlife and Plants; Revision to the Nonessential Experimental 
Population of the Mexican Wolf'' (87 Fed. Reg. 39348; published 
July 1, 2022).
(d) Bifurcation of Mexican Wolf Population Criteria.--If the 
Mexican wolf (Canis lupus baileyi) is listed as a threatened species or 
an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 
U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) after the date of the enactment of this section, 
the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director of the 
United States Fish and Wildlife Service, may not reference or otherwise 
consider--
(1) the status of the recovery of the Mexican wolf in 
Mexico in developing or implementing under section 4(f) of that 
Act (16 U.S.C. 1533(f)) a plan for the Mexican wolf; or
(2) the status of the Mexican wolf in Mexico in determining 
under section 4(c) of that Act (16 U.S.C. 1533(c)) whether the 
Mexican wolf should be--
(A) changed in status from an endangered species to 
a threatened species;
(B) changed in status from a threatened species to 
an endangered species; or
(C) removed from the lists of threatened species 
and endangered species, as applicable, that are 
published pursuant to section 4 of the Endangered 
Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1533).
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