Grey Wolf Credit: Shutterstock

U.S. Lawmakers, mostly Republicans, have inserted a record number of anti-wildlife measures into the appropriations bills for fiscal year 2024, the Center for Biological Diversity reported Tuesday.

The attack comes despite the fact that scientists warn human activity may be triggering a sixth mass extinction, as species disappear at unprecedented rates. A September study found that vertebrate species groups are dying off at a rate 35 times higher than it would be without anthropogenic pressure.

“Republicans have weaponized the appropriations process to launch a full-blown assault on our natural heritage,” Center for Biological Diversity senior policy specialist Stephanie Kurose said in a statement. “These heartless attacks would strip away lifesaving protections from our most imperiled creatures—from wolves to whales to freshwater mussels. If passed, these bills would put multiple species on a direct path to extinction.”

“I hope the white-nose syndrome wipes all of them out,” Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) said during a hearing in July. “We won’t have to worry about it.”

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