Letter to the editor: Dollar trumps compassion

Republican President Nixon signed the bipartisan Endangered Species Act in 1973, but Trump is working to cripple it. The rollback comes amid a human-caused biodiversity crisis that has pushed up to 1 million species to the brink of extinction. That assessment comes from the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, the United Nations’ expert nature panel.

The Trump administration has also significantly reduced inspections for commercial animal operators such as breeders, zoos, circuses, horse shows and research labs.

In the case of the ESA, the reason for weakening it is to make it easier for fossil fuel corporations to increase mining, drilling and fracking.

The national bird, the bald eagle, as well as many other animals, including humpback whales, California condors, grizzly bears and Florida manatees, have been saved from extinction in large part because of the ESA. So have many indigenous plants.

Regarding commercial animal inspections, according to The Washington Post, more than a dozen departed employees of the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture division that conducts inspections said the more lenient approach has curtailed inspectors’ ability to document violations, putting animals at risk. Again, the reason fits with Trump’s pro-industry, anti-regulatory agenda.

What can you do? Obviously, the best solution is to vote Trump and his Republican enablers out of office.

In the meantime, eight environmental groups, led by Earthjustice, are currently suing the Trump administration for its sweeping overhaul of the ESA. They need your donations to succeed.

Sincerely,

Tracie Hornung

Parkdale