Court Opinion

ID: 9886047
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-10-06 15:35:03.099655+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:49:21.595848
License: Public Domain

GOLDBERG, Judge, concurring.
I agree that the district court did not ultimately abuse its discretion in relocating the lemurs to the Special Memories Zoo. For this reason, I concur in the result. Nevertheless, I share the Plaintiffs' view that the district court's reasoning was problematic.
There is little guidance for courts exercising injunctive power under the ESA to relocate privately-owned animals. However, the express purpose of the ESA, under which this case arises, is the "conservation of endangered species." 16 U.S.C. § 1531(b). "Conservation" is defined as "all methods and procedures which are necessary to bring any endangered species or threatened species to the point at which [ESA protections] are no longer necessary." 16 U.S.C. § 1532(3) ; see also Tenn. Valley Auth. v. Hill , 437 U.S. 153, 180, 98 S.Ct. 2279, 57 L.Ed.2d 117 (1978). I believe this general principle should have informed the district court's decision and should inform courts exercising their injunctive powers in cases such as these.
Instead, the district court gave significant weight to relocating the lemurs to a "facility which is licensed by the USDA" and, on this basis, summarily rejected Plaintiffs' proposed facility, Prosimian Sanctuary. In my view, the district court unnecessarily hamstrung its broad remedial powers. USDA inspectors primarily apply Animal Welfare Act standards. As aptly explained by amicus, the Animal Welfare Act "provide[s] minimum requirements for humane treatment" but is not designed to address "whether captive uses of wildlife affirmatively serve the conservation purpose required by the ESA." Br. for the Humane Soc'y of the United States et al. as Amici Curiae 12. Accordingly, USDA licensing, while certainly a valid consideration, is insufficient as a proxy for the far-reaching purpose of the ESA.
*857In sum, strict adherence by the district court to its own order regarding USDA licensing may have resulted in the lemurs being relocated to the facility less responsive, on the whole, to their complex social, psychological, and environmental needs.