Congress blocks federal protection for one wild goat species—no reason given.
H.R. 2608 — To remove certain species from the lists of threatened species and endangered species published pursuant to the Endangered Species Act of 1973. · Filed by Chip Roy (R-TX) · 2 cosponsors · Introduced Apr 2, 2025 · Referred to committee
Your members of Congress
Enter a ZIP to see where your representative and both senators stood on this bill.
Looked up on this device — your ZIP is never stored on our servers.
What it does
This bill prevents the Secretary of the Interior from listing the Bukharan markhor (a Central Asian wild goat subspecies) as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act. It carves out a specific exemption for this one species, blocking any future federal protection designation regardless of the animal's conservation status.
Why we flagged it
The bill's sole operative function is to create a statutory exemption preventing one specific subspecies from receiving endangered-species protection. It is a narrow, targeted removal of regulatory authority rather than a broad conservation or deregulation measure.
What the text implies
- The bill does not explain why the Bukharan markhor is being singled out or whether its population is stable, declining, or recovering — the exemption is unconditional and permanent.
- By amending the ESA's listing procedures directly rather than through a separate conservation agreement or habitat-protection statute, the bill forecloses any future administrative reconsideration if the species' status changes.
- The exemption applies to both threatened and endangered designations, meaning even a 'threatened' (less restrictive) listing is barred — the species receives no federal protection tier whatsoever.
- No appropriation, alternative funding, or international coordination mechanism is established to protect the species outside the ESA framework, leaving conservation entirely to foreign governments or private entities.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
Citizens lose the ability to invoke federal endangered-species protections for this subspecies, even if its population declines to critical levels. The bill removes a conservation tool from the public interest without establishing an alternative protection mechanism or demonstrating the species is not at risk.
Who stands to gain
- entities with commercial or extractive interests in Bukharan markhor habitat (hunting outfitters, tr
Named in the bill
Secretary of the Interior, Endangered Species Act of 1973, Bukharan markhor (Capra falconeri heptneri), House Committee on Natural Resources
Where it stands
2 cosponsors: 2 Republicans.
- Apr 2, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Apr 2, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Natural Resources · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Money around this bill
5 lobbying clients named this bill on 9 disclosure filings across 2 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $1,700,000 in lobbying spend. A filing names 12 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.
More lobbying clients named this bill than 78% of bills with at least one filing.
Chip Roy, the sponsor, reported $68,100 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.
- Nasdaq Inc — $1,460,000 on 2 filings
- Dallas Safari Club — $100,000 on 2 filings
- Defenders of Wildlife — $100,000 on 1 filing
- Exotic Wildlife Association — $20,000 on 2 filings
- Zoological Association of America — $20,000 on 2 filings
Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 17, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (456 characters) on Nov 2, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,927 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
Money — Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act filings whose specific-issue field names this bill for quarters ending Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. A filing's amount is reported whole beside the median number of bills a filing names; it is never divided across them. PAC receipts are FEC-reported contributions to the sponsor's candidate committee in the 2026 cycle.
As of — lobbying records through Jul 17, 2026 · page rendered 2026-11-02.
“Congress blocks federal protection for one wild goat species—no reason given.” QuorumCivic. https://share.quorumcivic.app/bill/119/hr2608 Report an error
The week in bills
One email, Sunday: what Congress passed, what it changed, and who paid.
One link arrives to confirm the address. It is used for this email and nothing else, and every issue carries an unsubscribe link.