Republican Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy scrutinized the Department of Interiorâs (DOI) plan on Tuesday to kill hundreds of thousands of owls by accusing the federal bureaucrats of trying to play God.
Kennedy intends to introduce a resolution to stop the agencyâs plan to kill around 453,000 North American Barred Owls to protect the spotted owl population. While condemning this plan, Kennedy presented a photograph of Elmer Fudd and the two species of owls as he accused the DOI of practicing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) on owls.
âThe Department of Interior is mad at the Barred Owl because the Barred Owl is a better hunter,â Kennedy said. âThe Barred Owl is just a better hunter. Thatâs just the way it is ⌠God just made the Barred Owl a better hunter. And the Department of Interior is all up in arms. They say this is threatening the Spotted Owl. Now the Spotted Owl isnât on the endangered species list, but this isnât fair. The Barred Owl is a better hunter than the Spotted Owl and that is causing the Spotted Owlâs population to decrease. Now the Department of Interior, in its infinite wisdom, has come up with DEI for owls. Theyâve come up with quotas for owls.â
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Kennedy explained that the Barred Owl is expanding their habitat in the western part of the U.S. because the forests in the east are being cut down. He argued that no federal agency has the right to interfere with a natural survival instinct in mammals.
âWeâre gonna change nature, weâre gonna control our environment to extent. Weâre gonna pass DEI for owls. Weâre gonna pass quotas for owls. Spotted Owls, good. Barred Owls, bad. But the Barred Owls wonât lose their constitutional rights, theyâll kill them. Theyâre gonna kill 453 of them, dead as Jimmy Hoffa. Give me a break,â Kennedy continued.
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The senator argued that the plan will fail to control the population, given that the owls would return to the impacted areas once the practice of killing them stopped, according to Kennedyâs press release. This policy would cost taxpayers an estimated $1.35 billion.
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