For decades since it was created in the 1970s, the Endangered Species Act has been interpreted to prohibit any killing of an endangered species, even if unintentional. Now, that’s about to change.
A directive issued on Sept. 14 from the director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, made public by the Center for Biological Diversity, concerns the definition of what it means to “take” a species. Now, in order for an action to be prohibited, “the person must intend to act on an animal and must do so for the purpose of affecting the animal,” the memo says.
Erica Fuller, senior counsel at the Conservation Law Foundation, said that as a result, individuals and companies will no longer be required to take steps to avoid unintentionally killing animals…