Rep. Nicholas Begich (R-AK) introduced a draft bill today that would eviscerate the Marine Mammal Protection Act, the sole federal law protecting marine mammals in U.S. waters from unsustainable amounts of injury and death caused by commercial fishing, oil and gas development and other human activities. Mike Senatore, Defenders of Wildlife’s Senior Vice President of Conservation Programs, released the following response:
“For more than 50 years, the Marine Mammal Protection Act has safeguarded iconic species like whales, dolphins, polar bears, sea otters and manatees from drowning in fishing gear, being run over by boats and being poisoned by oil spills. True to form, the anti-wildlife members of Congress demonstrate interest not in protecting America's imperiled wildlife, but only in letting species die in favor of private industry handouts. Defenders strongly opposes this bill and will fight to protect our nation’s marine mammals and our flagship conservation laws.”
The bill will be subject to a hearing on July 22 with the House Committee on Natural Resources.
For nearly 80 years, Defenders of Wildlife has worked to protect and restore America’s wildlife at risk of extinction, advancing a vision of a future in which wildlife thrives, sustained by broad public support and a resilient network of healthy lands and waters. With a network of more than 2 million supporters, Defenders is an advocate for innovative solutions to safeguard wildlife for generations to come. To learn more, please visit https://defenders.org/newsroom or follow us on Instagram @defendersofwildlife.
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