Adult mountain yellow-legged frog  Credit: National Park Service

New changes remove the Endangered Species Act’s blanket 4(d) rule, ending automatic protections for future threatened species and weakening long-standing wildlife safeguards.

July 18, 2026 - WASHINGTON - Humane World for Animals and Humane World Action Fund, formerly called Humane Society of the United States and Humane Society Legislation Fund, issued the following statements in response to reports that the Trump administration has finalized changes that would weaken Endangered Species Act protections for imperiled species listed as threatened in the future, from southern sea otters to West Indian manatees.

Specifically, a Department of Interior press release announced that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service  will eliminate the blanket 4(d) rule. This regulation is critical for the protection of threatened species and without it, newly listed threatened species will not automatically be protected from killing, harassment or other harms under federal law. The department has also finalized regulations designed to undermine other important functions of the ESA, including the designation of critical habitat. 

This news follows a July 10 move by USFWS and the National Marine Fisheries Service to rescind long-standing definitions of what it means to “harm” a species under the ESA, removing an important safeguard against habitat degradation. 

Sara Amundson, president of Humane World Action Fund, said:

“Today’s decision represents a profound failure by Interior Secretary Burgum and his department, and it amounts to an utter abdication of the federal government’s responsibility to protect America’s wildlife. Rescinding the blanket 4(d) rule will undermine safeguards for threatened species while creating unnecessary hurdles that will slow future protections. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s suggestion that it may develop species-specific regulations for every newly listed threatened species offers no comfort. That process is far more time-consuming and resource-intensive, making delays in protecting vulnerable wildlife all but inevitable. We urge Secretary Burgum to honor the mandate that Congress and President Nixon established more than 50 years ago. The department’s role is to faithfully implement—and certainly not to dismantle—the Endangered Species Act.”

Kitty Block, president and CEO of Humane World for Animals, said:

“For half a century, the Endangered Species Act has prevented the extinction of America’s most vulnerable wildlife, providing essential protections before species reach the point of no return. In rashly eliminating the blanket 4(d) rule, the Trump administration will away a critical safety net for threatened species and will push animals already on the brink even closer to extinction. This decision clearly benefits special interests seeking fewer safeguards, not the wildlife species whose very survival depends on this longstanding, effective law that is supported by millions of Americans.”

Source: Humane World for Animals