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U.S. According to a new study by 16 researchers from the United States and Mexico, the proposed Mexico-US border would endanger many wildlife species by restricting their movement, destroying their habitats and disrupting regional environmental patterns.
Jaguars, wolves, American mouflons and American antelopes are among the most endangered animals that could be most affected by a continuous wall along the 3200-year-long border km. BioScience
The boundary "divides the geographic ranges of 1,506 native terrestrial and freshwater animals [species]," the authors write, noting that they include 62 species already considered at risk or vulnerable
. The Trump administration proposes to limit the protection of habitats for endangered species
Non-profit organization Defenders of Wildlife, which participated in the study, said in a recent report that the construction of the wall would destroy the vegetation on which many animals graze, while the wall itself would disrupt animal migration, infrastructure, patrols, lights and noise
"Some of the affected animals are charismatic and endangered" said Oregon State University's co-author and professor of ecology William Ripple in a press release. "A continuous wall would disconnect US jaguars and ocelots from their main range in Mexico."
A newborn jaguar runs at the Reino Animal Zoo, Otumba, Mexico, April 27, 2018
EPA / JOSE MENDEZ [19659010] Seventeen percent of the species analyzed in the study could be threatened with extirpation (local extinction) in the United States once the wall stands up, says the co-author and biologist of the # 39, Stanford University Paul Ehrlich.
The wall "could rob us of iconic creatures such as the Bighorn Peninsular sheep and the Sonoran pronomhorn antelope," Ehrlich told the Stanford report, adding that these animals are prized by
READ MORE: Trump's new nature conservation council includes several trophy hunters
The study points the finger at the 2005 Real ID Act, a US law that has facilitated the construction of p pointing out that the law has made it possible the construction of border walls without thorough analysis of the environmental impact, the development of less harmful alternative strategies, post-construction environmental monitoring, mitigation, public participation and the pursuit. legal remedies. "
WATCH: Trump turns the border between the United States and Mexico, looks at a wall of prototypes
The paper suggests that Congress do more to ensure that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) follows environmental laws, and that DHS should track species at risk before and after construction, take more measures to reduce environmental damage "The border stretches for about 3,200 kilometers and cuts through several important habitat types from desert to forest to scrubland and mountain ranges," Ripple said. These are important wildlife habitats, rich in biological diversity, that extend on both sides of the border. I hope the national leaders will listen to our message on conservation. "
© 2018 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
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