Share
Over 150 tule elk at Point Reyes National Seashore have died from starvation and dehydration in the last year because the animals couldn’t get past a fence that the National Park Service placed to stop them from competing for food and water with cattle, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday against the federal government.
Three California residents and the Animal Legal Defense Fund sued the park service in federal court in San Francisco claiming it is being negligent and more animals will die if the agency is not ordered to provide food and water during the drought.
“The National Park Service has a responsibility to protect and preserve these beautiful animals. The idea that depriving them of food and water somehow fulfills that responsibility isn’t just absurd, it’s undeniably inhumane,” said Kate Barnekow, of Harvard Law School’s Animal Law & Policy Clinic, who is representing the Plaintiffs.
Point Reyes National Seashore spokeswoman Melanie Gunn said she couldn’t comment on pending litigation.
Tule elk are a subspecies of elk native to California. The 700-pound animals, which were hunted to near extinction in the 1800s, were reintroduced to the park in 1978.
152 Elk Die from Starvation and/or Dehydration
According to the lawsuit, 152 elk — more than a third of the population — have died since last year and necropsies obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show that the emaciated elk died of starvation and/or dehydration.
The park service announced earlier this month that it had installed three large troughs after many of the stock ponds and other water sources began drying up earlier than expected due to lack of rain. But that water was only accessible to one of four herds at Tomales Point, the lawsuit said.
Gov. Gavin Newsom last month declared a drought emergency for much of the state after an unusually dry winter and extraordinarily warm spring temperatures. But while droughts are common in California, this year’s drought much hotter and drier than others, evaporating water more quickly.
The fence was erected decades ago to prevent the elk from competing with the cattle that are permitted by the park service to graze on public land.
Park Visitor Cited for Taking Water to Elk
Some of the biggest names in the Bay Area’s organic meat and dairy industry lease land in Point Reyes, including Bill Niman and Nicolette Hahn Niman of BN Ranch LLC, and David Evans of Marin Sun Farms.
Plaintiff Jack Gescheidt, an environmentalist and artist, has been visiting Tomales Point in the Point Reyes National Seashore for at least 20 years. He said the park service cited him after he took troughs of water to the elk.
“The knowledge that approximately a third of the Tomales Point herd of tule elk has already died from a lack of adequate water and forage is absolutely chilling,” he said. “I see these beautiful animals and want them to experience a healthy, happy, safe life, but I know that so many of them will die—through no fault of their own.”
RELATED TOPICS:
Clovis CPA Sentenced to Prison for $800K Bank Fraud Scheme
10 hours ago
His Gang Name Is ‘Goer.’ Now Fresno County Man Is Going to Prison for 20 Years
10 hours ago
Missing Woman Found Dead in Fresno County Canal Identified
10 hours ago
Co-Conspirator Sentenced in Fraud Involving Loans to Bitwise
10 hours ago
Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Stephanie Marie Zamarripa
10 hours ago
Why Trump Is Mad at ‘Sleazebag’ Leonard Leo
11 hours ago
Madera County Authorities Seek Public’s Help Locating Missing At-Risk Man
12 hours ago
Campbell’s Co. Says Sales Rise as More Americans Cook at Home
12 hours ago
‘King of the Hill’ Voice Actor Jonathan Joss Fatally Shot Outside His Texas Home
9 hours ago
Categories

‘King of the Hill’ Voice Actor Jonathan Joss Fatally Shot Outside His Texas Home

Not Quite ‘Hunger Games,’ but Fresno Budget Hearings Start

Clovis CPA Sentenced to Prison for $800K Bank Fraud Scheme

His Gang Name Is ‘Goer.’ Now Fresno County Man Is Going to Prison for 20 Years

Missing Woman Found Dead in Fresno County Canal Identified

Co-Conspirator Sentenced in Fraud Involving Loans to Bitwise

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Stephanie Marie Zamarripa
