Update: Senate Approves Controversial Barred Owl Kill Plan Despite Nationwide Backlash

Update: Despite widespread opposition from conservationists, scientists, and members of Congress, the U.S. Senate has voted 25–72 to advance the Barred Owl Management Strategy. The decision clears the way for the killing of up to 450,000 barred owls across 24 million acres of public land in the Pacific Northwest, a move wildlife advocates call the largest bird cull in U.S. history.

In response, Animal Wellness Action is ramping up legal efforts. The organization has filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in Portland, Oregon, arguing that the program violates the Endangered Species Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, asserting that the federal government cannot justify killing one native species to protect another.

Former U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologists and independent experts continue to warn that the policy fails to address the real driver of northern spotted owl decline: decades of habitat loss from industrial logging.

The controversy has reignited calls for genuine conservation solutions, emphasizing habitat restoration and protection of old-growth forests rather than lethal control programs. As legal battles continue and public scrutiny intensifies, the fate of both barred and northern spotted owls, and the ethics of wildlife management in America, remains at the center of a national debate.

October 21st: Barred owls are being systematically killed under a federal wildlife program. What began in select areas of California is now set to expand dramatically across 24 million acres in California, Oregon, and Washington, including parts of 14 national parks and 17 national forests. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) plans to kill nearly half a million of these beautiful creatures.

Thirty U.S. senators have recently signed a discharge petition to bring S.J.Res. 69 to the Senate floor, challenging the USFWS’ controversial “Barred Owl Management Strategy.” Led by Sens. John Kennedy (R-La.) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.), the resolution seeks to block the largest bird cull in U.S. history.

On Friday, Sen. Kennedy submitted the petition with the required 30 signatures to bypass the Environment and Public Works Committee and force a full Senate vote. If passed by a simple majority, the resolution would stop the $1.35 billion plan, which includes owl shootings even in protected areas such as Yosemite, Crater Lake, and Olympic national parks.

The goal of the USFWS is to reduce competition with the northern spotted owl, a threatened species. But this approach is not based on conservation, it’s a costly and cruel shortcut that ignores the deeper ecological issues at play.

Barred owls did not arrive in western forests by human intervention. Their range expanded naturally over time. Blaming them for the decline of the spotted owl ignores the primary threat: decades of habitat destruction caused by logging and land development.

Killing one native species to help another sets a dangerous and unethical precedent. If allowed to continue, this approach could pave the way for widespread lethal control of wildlife, eradicating animals simply for existing alongside a threatened species.

Former USFWS biologist Kent Livezey, who has authored over a dozen peer-reviewed studies on owls, strongly opposes the plan. In a letter to Congress, Livezey called it a “never-ending, bloody game of Whack-a-Mole.” He argues that the agency’s proposal is a distraction from real conservation work and would waste more than $1 billion in taxpayer dollars.

It’s estimated that killing a single barred owl would cost roughly $3,000, adding up to more than $1.35 billion over a 30-year period. Yet, the Barred Owl Management Strategy fails to provide detailed financial information.

A companion bill in the House, H.J.Res. 111, is led by Reps. Troy Nehls (R-Texas) and Scott Perry (R-Pa.), with bipartisan support from California Democrats Josh Harder and Adam Gray. Prior to the resolutions’ introduction, 37 House members sent two bipartisan letters urging Interior Secretary Doug Burgum to stop the owl-killing plan.

If passed by both chambers and signed by the president, S.J.Res. 69 would overturn the Barred Owl Management Strategy and block the issuance of a similar rule. It would not interfere with legitimate conservation efforts to protect Northern spotted owls, such as habitat restoration or forest management, allowing for a more science-based approach in the future.

With Congress considering S.J.Res. 69, this is our opportunity to stop the killing before it spirals out of control.

TAKE ACTION!

Call your senators at (202) 224-3121 and urge them to support S.J.Res. 69. Tell them to stand up for barred owls and choose science-based conservation over senseless killing.