Animal Law Podcast #102: A Case of Justice Delayed for Endangered Animals

The Animal Law Podcast

Ryan Shannon joins us to talk about Center for Biological Diversity v Haaland. The Center actually brings a lot of cases involving the Endangered Species Act, but this one is different. As you may know, if you pay attention to ESA litigation, a lot of it has to do with the Fish and Wildlife Service’s failure to get around to making decisions about whether to list certain species as threatened or endangered, which triggers the protections the act requires. In this case, rather than going species by species, the Center is trying to get the Service to fix this broken system whereby the Act is rendered ineffective through delay. In fact, if you delay long enough, species will just go extinct! I had no idea how bad this situation is and how important it is to rethink how to approach it, which is what this litigation attempts to do.

Ryan Shannon is a Senior Attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, where he works to defend the Endangered Species Act and protect imperiled species by securing and enforcing safeguards. Before joining the Center in 2017, Ryan was a legal fellow with Earthrise Law Center at Lewis & Clark Law School in Portland, Oregon, where he earned his law degree.

INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT

We are thrilled to expand the accessibility of our podcast by offering written transcripts of the interviews! Click here to read this episode's interview.

**********

This episode of the Animal Law Podcast is sponsored in part by the Vermont Law & Graduate School’s Animal Law and Policy Institute.

Vermont Law and Graduate School’s Animal Law and Policy Institute trains tomorrow’s animal advocacy leaders to advance animals’ legal status through education, scholarship, policy development, community engagement, and litigation. Engaging with advocacy organizations, communities, journalists, and policymakers, the Institute serves as a resource hub for animal law and policy issues.

**********

The Animal Law Podcast is proud to partner with The Brooks Institute for Animal Rights Law and Policy, Inc., a US-based national independent think tank pursuing a paradigm shift in human responsibility towards, and value of, non-human animals by advancing animal law, animal policy, and related interdisciplinary studies.

The Brooks Institute for Animal Rights Law and Policy, Inc. is dedicated to producing and disseminating outstanding, independent, academic, and public policy research and programming; and pursuing projects and initiatives focused on advancing law and policy pertaining to animals.

**********

You can listen to the Animal Law Podcast directly on our website (at the top of this page) or you can listen and subscribe on iTunes or your favorite podcatcher. Also, if you like what you hear, please rate it on iTunes, and don’t forget to leave us a friendly comment! Of course, we would be thrilled if you would consider making a donation or becoming a member of our flock (especially if you’re a regular listener). Any amount is hugely appreciated, and Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so it’s tax-deductible. Thank you for helping us create quality content!

Don’t forget to also listen to the award-winning, weekly signature OHH podcast — now in its thirteenth glorious year!