Lawmakers are urging Donald Trump to halt owl killings that would, in turn, save $1.35 billion. The group is asking the federal government to stop carnage of the barred owls. The group of lawmakers explained how using the taxpayers’ money for the massacre would be “inappropriate” and “inefficient.”
Last year, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed a plan to eliminate the growing barred owl population. The drastic measure was intended to prevent the barred owls from posing a threat to a rare species of owls, the spotted owls.
The barred owls are known to be larger in size and more aggressive than the spotted owls. The two species also compete for food and habitat in the wild. Barred owls, who have a clear advantage over spotted owls, pose a threat to the endangered species.
Barred owls are also infamous for disrupting the nesting process of the spotted owls. Inbreeding has also been reported that threatens the staggeringly low population of the already endangered species.
The government approved the plan named the Barred Owl Management Strategy last year. The strategy would eliminate 450,000 barred owls in total.
19 lawmakers are now strongly urging the Trump government to reconsider the mass slaughter of the species. The group wrote a letter to Doug Burgum who serves as the Interior Secretary of the U.S. Department regarding the same.
🚨 The Fight to Stop the $1B Barred Owl Killing Gains Momentum!
A powerful bipartisan letter from Members of Congress has been sent to Secretary of the Interior @DougBurgum, urging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to halt its plan to kill 470,000 barred owls across the… pic.twitter.com/kVgMOghqzP
— Rep. Real Diehl (@Real_EdDiehl) March 10, 2025
In the letter, they reveal just how “inefficient” the plan is if the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service goes through with it. The letter detailed how the government would have to spend a whopping $3,000 to kill a single owl. Adding up, the cost to kill the 450,000 owls would be $1.35 billion.
The group not only pointed out how financially inefficient the plan is but also noted that executing it would take over 30 years. “This is an inappropriate and inefficient use of U.S. taxpayer dollars,” the letter reads. The letter notes that the barred owls might be an aggressive and evasive species but are crucial to the “dynamic ecosystem” while discouraging the strategy.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service also spoke to USA Today on the matter while noting that they would provide further information at the appropriate time. “While we do not comment on congressional correspondence, the U.S. Department of the Interior takes all correspondence from Congress seriously and carefully reviews each matter,” the statement read.
Barred owl, North America…..also known as hoot owl, eight hooter, rain owl, wood owl and stripped owl. pic.twitter.com/vxAgC1Ay4F
— Swaminathan P (@swami2005) January 31, 2017
The strategy to eliminate the Barred owls was finalized in August of last year. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service aimed to protect the endangered species in the Washington, Oregon, and California regions. The northern spotted owl, the species in question, was declared endangered in 1990.
The number of surviving spotted owls is estimated to be around 15,000 currently. American Bird Conservancy also observes the species to be near threatened under the Endangered Species Act.
