Louisiana Senator John Kennedy launched a fierce challenge against the Department of Interior (DOI) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), sharply criticizing their controversial plan to lethally remove hundreds of thousands of Barred Owls to protect the Spotted Owl population in the Western U.S.

The senator announced his intent to introduce a resolution, S.J.Res. 69, to block the $1.35 billion, 30-year policy, accusing federal officials of overreaching and “trying to play God” in the ecosystem.

The plan, which anticipates the removal of approximately 453,000 Barred Owls, is framed by the USFWS as a critical measure to save the threatened Northern Spotted Owl, which is being outcompeted by the larger, more aggressive Barred Owl, an Eastern species that has expanded its range wes

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