Animal Welfare Institute v. Martin

LYNCH, Chief Judge.

This is a case about the Canada lynx. The Endangered Species Act makes it unlawful to “take” a member of an endangered species. 16 U.S.C. § 1538(a)(1)(B). By regulation, it is also unlawful to “take” a “threatened” species, that is, one likely to become endangered in the foreseeable future. 16 U.S.C. § 1532(20); 50 C.F.R. § 17.31(a). The term “take” means to “harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture, or collect.” 16 U.S.C. § 1532(19).

The Canada lynx is a wild cat, weighing about 20 pounds, which eats small animals, particularly the snowshoe hare, and is…