Lawsuit over politically 'slanted' Trump wildlife board can proceed: U.S. judge

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A federal judge has rejected the Trump administration’s bid to dismiss a lawsuit by animal rights groups seeking to dissolve a wildlife advisory board they said was stacked with politically connected donors and pro-hunting enthusiasts.

U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan in Manhattan said on Monday that the administration has not shown that its International Wildlife Conservation Council served the public interest, having justified it with “boilerplate” language rather than the required “reasoned explanation.”

She said the plaintiffs could try to prove that the 17-person board was not “fairly balanced” to incorporate different points of view, reflecting what they called its lack of scientists, economists and wildlife conservation experts.

A spokesman for U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman in Manhattan, whose office defended the government, declined to comment.

The lawsuit was filed in August 2018 by the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Center for Biological Diversity and the Humane Society.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-wildlife-lawsuit/lawsuit-over-politically-slanted-trump-wildlife-board-can-proceed-u-s-judge-idUSKBN1W81RC?feedType=RSS&feedName=domesticNews