Neah Bay: Pro-animal groups sue to get another Makah whaling review

Published 12:01 am Friday, January 11, 2002

The Fund for Animals, the Humane Society of the United States and other groups have filed a legal challenge in U.S. District Court opposing new regulations for a Makah gray whale hunt.

The suit argues that a 2001 environmental assessment, conducted by the National Marine Fisheries Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, does not adequately reflect the impact of a gray whale hunt on the environment, according to a press release issued Thursday by the Fund for Animals.

Last year’s assessment stemmed from a 2000 federal appeals court ruling that a previous environmental study violated federal law.

U.S. District Court clerks in Seattle and Tacoma and a Fisheries spokesperson in Seattle said Thursday afternoon they had no knowledge of the new suit.