The WOLF Act of 2025 (H.R. 2227) would revise the Agricultural Act of 2014 to provide enhanced financial relief to livestock producers harmed by Mexican gray wolves. It creates two main changes: (1) 100 percent indemnity payments for livestock depredated by Mexican gray wolves, meaning full reimbursement of market value for affected animals; and (2) a new emergency-relief program funded annually to mitigate ongoing costs and losses tied to wolves. The emergency-relief formula would consider herd size, depredation history, increased management costs, declines in birth rates, and any depredation-prevention practices already in place. The bill also requires interagency consultation and annual reporting on program activity and funding. In short, the bill aims to make wolf-related losses fully compensable and to establish a targeted, formula-based emergency fund to offset ongoing costs for affected livestock producers, with periodic oversight and transparency to Congress.
Key Points
- 1Short title: Establishes the bill as the WOLF Act of 2025 (Wolf and Livestock Fairness Act of 2025).
- 2100% indemnity for wolf attacks: For livestock attacked by Mexican gray wolves, eligible producers would receive indemnity payments equal to 100 percent of the livestock’s market value, as determined by the Secretary, using the date framework applicable to standard indemnity payments.
- 3Emergency relief program: Each fiscal year, funds would be used to provide emergency relief to producers with herds adversely affected by Mexican gray wolves, as determined by the Secretary.
- 4Relief formula and factors: A formula must be developed within 180 days of enactment to determine relief amounts, incorporating herd size, annual depredations per producer (state level), changes in management costs over the prior five years, changes in birth rates over the prior five years, and the producer’s depredation-prevention practices reported through the existing wolf compensation and prevention program.
- 5Interagency consultation and reporting: The Secretary must consult with the Farm Service Agency, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as needed; an annual report to Congress must detail the amount of emergency relief distributed and the number of producers served.