Vern Buchanan Urges Fish and Wildlife Service to Keep Manatees Listed as Endangered

With the federal Fish and Wildlife Service trying to move manatees from endangered to threatened under the Endangered Species Act, U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., stressed his opposition on Thursday.

“These gentle giants need our help as hundreds continue to be killed off,” Buchanan said. “The Fish and Wildlife Service decision will only exacerbate this crisis by reducing their protections.

“I urge the agency to withdraw its misguided and premature proposal immediately and help save this treasured species,” Buchanan added. “The government must not downplay the severity of these threats to the manatee’s survival.”

Buchanan wrote Fish and Wildlife Service on the matter back in 2014.