US government is funding kills of endangered animals, activists say

June hunt in Alaska that killed 99 bears and five wolves prompts activists to renew their call for crackdown on rogue states'

The US federal government has been accused of simultaneously paying to protect endangered species while funding state-organized hunts of large, endangered predators, like gray wolves and grizzly bears, that increase the likelihood of their extinction.

A coalition of more than 35 animal welfare and Indigenous groups in late 2021 formally petitioned the US Department of the Interior to develop rules to withhold money from state agencies that fund the slaughters". But the department has not responded to the petition, the groups allege.