In a statement to the Guardian, the interior department claimed federal money is not used for the kills. Spokesperson Melissa Schwartz said the allegation that the department funded state kills was “wildly inaccurate”.
But the coalition said the interior department’s statement is misleading. Federal money cannot be used to purchase bullets or guns for the hunts, which are paid for with state money, said Jeff Ruch, an attorney with the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (Peer) non-profit.
But federal funds can be used to organize the operation and monitor the results, he added.
“Our petition is to change the rules so they can look at the whole state program and whether states are doing things that undermine federal policy and should be made unfundable,” Ruch said.
