Center for Biological Diversity v. Haaland

Three nongovernmental organizations and federal defendants agreed to a settlement to resolve litigation seeking to compel the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to complete a 12-month finding on the organizations’ petition to list the giraffe under the Endangered Species Act. The complaint—filed in 2021—alleged that giraffes face a number of ongoing threats, including increased frequency and magnitude of droughts associated with climate change. The settlement provides that the FWS will review the giraffe’s status and submit a determination to the Federal Register by November 7, 2024 as to whether listing the giraffe is not warranted, warranted, or warranted but precluded.

Three organizations filed an action in the federal district court for the District of Columbia to compel the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to make a 12-month finding on their April 2017 petition to list giraffes under the Endangered Species Act. The complaint alleged that giraffes face a number of ongoing threats, including increased frequency and magnitude of droughts associated with climate change.

Filing Year For Action

On April 19, 2017, five environmental and animal protection groups submitted a petition to the Secretary of the Interior and United States Fish and Wildlife Service requesting that the giraffe be listed under the Endangered Species Act. The petition described a number of threats to the giraffe’s survival, including climate change, which the petition said could increase the frequency and magnitude of droughts, increase bushfires, and reduce food availability.

Filing Year For Action