Action timeline

March 30, 1972 – The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed the ocelot as a foreign species in danger under the federal Endangered Species Act.

July 25, 1980 – The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed listing the ocelot as an endangered species in the United States.

July 21, 1982 – The Service listed the U.S. population of ocelots as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. The agency did not designate critical habitat, claiming that it might operate to the disadvantage of the species, citing poaching as a threat. It also relied on the fact that 20,000 of the 50,000 identified acres of ocelot habitat was already protected by the Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge.

August 22, 1990 – The Service published a recovery plan for the listed cats of Arizona and Texas, with an emphasis on the ocelot.

April 30, 2010 – The Center formally notified the predator-control branch of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Wildlife Services, that we would file suit over Wildlife Services' traps, snares and poisons, which risk injuring or killing endangered jaguars and ocelots in the Southwest.

June 18, 2010 – The Fish and Wildlife Service issued a permit to the Arizona Game and Fish Department allowing the state agency to “take” ocelots and jaguars, which can include killing, injuring or otherwise harming the rare felines.

May 26, 2016 – The Center and the Animal Welfare Institute filed a notice of intent to sue the U.S. Department of Agriculture to ensure that ocelots aren't inadvertently killed as part of its long-running program to kill coyotes, bears, bobcats and other wildlife in Arizona and Texas.

January 25, 2017 –  President Trump announced that his administration would begin pursuing a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, a project that would perpetuate human suffering, harm border communities and halt the cross-border movement of jaguars, ocelots, wolves and other wildlife.

June 26, 2017– Under a settlement with the Center and the Animal Welfare Institute, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Fish and Wildlife Service agreed to conduct analyses aimed at ensuring that Wildlife Services does not inadvertently kill ocelots.

Photo courtesy Flickr/Debs