In a 25–72 vote, the Senate rejected a resolution from Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) that aimed to block the government’s plan to kill hundreds of thousands of the “Barred Owl” species.
The bill from Kennedy, introduced under the Congressional Review Act, tried to overturn a previous Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) rule that authorized the “lethal removal” of up to 453,000 Barred Owls over several decades to protect the endangered Northern Spotted Owl – known for being less of an agile hunter than the Barred species.
Yet now, there are some questions on whether that was the right choice, both for the environment and for Americans’ pockets.
The Biden administration finalized the FWS plan in late 2024, with the first contracts allocating $4.5 million to kill about 1,500 owls – roughly $3,000 per bird, including baby birds, according to Kennedy’s office. Some supporters argue that the Barred Owl, which has migrated west and outcompetes the Spotted Owl for food and nesting space, poses a threat to the native species.
In contrast, critics, such as Kennedy, call it an expensive and misguided example of government overreach.
During a fiery floor speech on Tuesday, Kennedy called the plan “bone-deep, down-to-the-marrow stupid,” standing beside posters of barred owls and a cartoon of Elmer Fudd with a rifle. He accused the Department of the Interior (DOI) of trying to “micromanage” nature and mocked the effort as an expensive DEI plan for owls.
“Barred owls are expanding their habitat because the forests in the east have been cut down. That’s called adaptive range expansion. And do you know what? Whether you believe in God or nature or whatever, that happens every single day in our ecosystem. It’s a naturally occurring ecological phenomenon. It’s a core behavioral characteristic of animals,” Kennedy said.
“I know the bureaucrats at the Department of the Interior. I realize this: They’re smarter and more virtuous than you and I are. I get that. But who appointed them God?” he added.
Kennedy’s resolution advanced out of committee in October with bipartisan support, but encountered resistance on the Senate floor.
The DOI defends the culling plan as critical for the Spotted Owl’s survival, estimating a total cost of $1.35 billion for the removal project, according to a March 7 letter from certain members of Congress, further warning that doing nothing could doom the species.
The vote split both parties and seems to have split opinions among some animal and environmental experts as well.
Animal welfare advocates like Animal Wellness Action praised Kennedy’s stance to stop the barred owl’s expensive kill-off strategy. At the same time, the Vice President of Government Relations at Defenders of Wildlife, Robert Dewey, celebrated the bill’s passage as a win for science-based conservation, according to EE News.
Kennedy, known for his past critiques of federal bureaucracy, painted the owl-killing program as an example of Washington’s waste and arrogance.
“The federal government—which can barely deliver the mail—now plans to kill over 10% of the North American barred owl population,” Kennedy posted on X, estimating the barred owl population to be around 3.4 million. Kennedy further pointed to biologists’ own admissions that the culling would need to continue indefinitely to have any effect on the species.
The recent vote against Kennedy’s measure keeps the FWS culling plan in place, though Kennedy promised to keep fighting.
“Barred owls are better hunters than spotted owls—that’s just the way it is,” he said. A companion bill from Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Texas) remains pending in the House as of press time.