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Animal Law Keyed to Wagman
Cetacean Community v. Bush
Citation:
386 F.3d 1169 (2004)Facts
The Cetacean Community, representing all the world’s whales, dolphins, and porpoises, brought suit through a self-appointed attorney against the U.S. Navy’s use of Surveillance Towed Array Sensor System Low Frequency Active Sonar (SURTASS LFAS) during wartime or heightened threat conditions. The Navy developed this sonar to detect quiet submarines at long range by emitting loud underwater sonar pulses that can travel hundreds of miles. The Cetaceans contended that this sonar technology harmed them by causing tissue damage and other serious injuries, and by disrupting biologically important behaviors including feeding and mating. Unlike a separate action challenging the Navy’s routine peacetime use of this technology, the Cetaceans sought to compel President Bush and Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld to undertake regulatory review of SURTASS LFAS use during threat and wartime conditions, which had been specifically exempted from current regulations. The Cetaceans sought injunctions requiring consultation with the National Marine Fisheries Service under the ESA, application for authorization under the MMPA, and preparation of an environmental impact statement under NEPA.
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