Trump weakened the law protecting endangered species — now their last refuges are at risk.

The reckless destruction of wildlife and the dismantling of environmental legislation continue around the world. And apparently, governments have started a race to “copy first”: who can adopt the more destructive laws faster!

Wildlife defenders from the United States are writing to me: the Donald Trump administration is now stripping endangered animal species of protection. A document titled “Rescinding the Definition of ‘Harm’ Under the Endangered Species Act” was published in the interests of big business, and it is expected to appear in the official government publication Federal Register on July 14, 2026. It will enter into force 60 days after publication.

It is important to note that Congress is not adopting a new law! They simply took one of the most FUNDAMENTAL wildlife conservation laws and, through a regulatory act, removed the definition of “harm” as it applies to endangered species when their habitat is destroyed. This is exactly what wealthy interests in the United States had been seeking for a long time. They desperately wanted to “develop” natural areas, but could not do so because those lands serve as refuges for endangered animal and plant species. The United States has a foundational law called the Endangered Species Act of 1973, signed on December 28, 1973. Its purpose is to ensure the conservation of the ecosystems on which endangered species depend and to require federal agencies to use their powers in the interests of protecting those species.

In simple terms, this law protected not only wild animals on the brink of extinction, but also their habitats and living conditions as a whole, without which survival would simply be impossible.

This law was fundamental to wildlife protection and, in essence, formed the backbone of the country’s environmental framework. In 1981, federal regulations clarified that harm includes significant habitat modification or degradation when it actually kills or injures wildlife by seriously disrupting feeding, breeding, or sheltering.

Then Donald Trump came to power — a representative of America’s wealthiest interests — and a large-scale weakening of wildlife protection began across the United States. I wrote about this earlier in my work! One of these steps was the adoption of a regulatory act that removed the term harm from the rules protecting rare species. In other words, the destruction of their habitat will no longer be treated as harm under the law.

Formally, the law remains in force, and directly killing or injuring a protected species is still prohibited. But that is not what officials needed. Their main interest was precisely to eliminate the concept of “harm” in cases where the habitat of endangered species is destroyed. As is well known, habitat destruction is one of the main causes of population decline and eventual extinction. Species can survive only when their habitats are protected.

As a result, within just two months, beginning in the autumn of 2026, big business in the United States will be able to destroy nesting, feeding, migration, breeding, and sheltering areas used by species on the brink of extinction. For all species dependent on forests, wetlands, coastal dunes, river systems, and migration corridors, this is a direct blow to the very foundation of their survival.

Let me remind you that, according to the 2019 global scientific assessment, around one million SPECIES worldwide are threatened with extinction, while the destruction and transformation of terrestrial and marine ecosystems are among the leading causes of this catastrophic crisis.

The ESA itself was one of the most fundamental environmental laws in the United States. I came across expert estimates showing that the law prevented the complete extinction of approximately 291 species and saved more than 99% of the species placed under its protection. In other words, the system truly worked, and it was a genuinely well-designed law.

But Donald Trump decided to change the rules in the interests of big business, steadily weakening wildlife protections. The authorities justified this “urgent necessity” by claiming that the definition of “harm” had extended the Endangered Species Act too broadly to habitat destruction. In the administration’s view, the law should primarily prohibit actions directed against a specific animal, such as killing, injuring, capturing, and similar acts.

In other words, this position is profoundly anti-scientific. That is exactly what the entire conservation community in the United States is now saying!

I want to emphasize that the authorities are speaking about the law being applied “too broadly” only now. Earlier, in the proposed rule, the Trump administration argued that rescinding the definition of “harm” would reduce the additional costs imposed by the previous system on small businesses and other regulated organizations. Officials openly described the change as deregulatory and said it would benefit businesses subject to the Endangered Species Act.

The final rule states this even more directly: the authorities expect that some companies will need fewer permits under Section 10 of the law in the future, meaning they will be able to avoid part of the administrative costs, paperwork, and expenses associated with complying with environmental conditions.

I think you understand what this means. They openly stated that this is being done in the interests of business! And now animal and plant species on the brink of extinction are losing their right to Life — their last refuges will be devastated for profit.

I also want to remind you that, at the same time, the Russian authorities adopted almost identical measures — allowing the “transplantation” of rare plant and fungi species so that their territories can be taken over in the interests of business, while also expanding the permitted “taking” of animals listed in the Red Data Book. Powers were transferred to regional officials so that they could make closed-door decisions about which animals may be “taken” and in what numbers. A digital system is also being created for the online issuance of permits and quotas to legal entities and entrepreneurs for the shooting of rare animal species.

The whole world must unite in defense of nature! Americans are told how “bad the Russians are,” while people in Russia are told how “bad the Americans are.” In reality, the oligarchs in power simply copy one another’s actions and urgently develop strategies for extracting enormous profits by destroying our own habitat!

Recommended reading:

• How Russia adopted measures threatening species on the brink of complete extinction.

  
  

• The large-scale weakening of wildlife protection in the United States

  
  
• How US authorities allowed the oil and gas industry to “accidentally” kill polar bears

Madness has engulfed our world! It is time to unite beyond political and social divisions in order to protect the nature of the entire planet together. We must fight for Life! No one else will.

© PAVEL PASHKOV