HomeUploadUpload DirectHotlinkRandomAbouttheme toggle
Expand

California Environmentalists: Bees Are Now Fish

Views:923
@ReasonVids

The state's Endangered Species Act doesn't protect insects, so environmentalists and government officials intent on helping bees had to get creative.
---------
https://reason.com/

For the past few years, government officials and agricultural groups in California have been fighting over the question: Are bees fish?

The California Court of Appeal for the 3rd District ruled on May 31 that, legally, they are.

At the heart of this issue is the state's Endangered Species Act, which prohibits the import, export, possession, purchase, sale, or killing of listed species. Roughly 250 plant and animal species are protected by the California Endangered Species Act (CESA).

In 2018, environmentalists petitioned the California Fish and Game Commission to add four bumblebee species to the list of at-risk plants and animals governed and protected by the CESA. The Commission provided notice in 2019 that the four bumblebee species were candidates for CESA protection.

Birds, mammals, amphibians, reptiles, plants, and fish are categories of endangered species eligible for protection in California, but insects aren't. So how did state officials, at the behest of environmental groups, end up getting those bumblebees added?

By declaring them fish!

Citrus growers, almond producers, and other large agricultural groups in the state that would be affected by the classification quickly filed a lawsuit, but the appeals court agreed with the classification—bees are fish.

So what is a fish? According to the CESA, the word refers to "a wild fish, mollusk, crustacean, invertebrate, amphibian, or part, spawn, or ovum of any of those animals."

The key word there is invertebrate. Because they don't have backbones, the appeals court ruled that bumblebees could reasonably be designated as fish since the word is considered a "term of art," meaning it has a definition within a specific field that diverges from common usage.

"We certainly agree section 45 is ambiguous as to whether the Legislature intended for the definition of fish to apply to purely aquatic species," the court's decision explains. "A fish, as the term is commonly understood in everyday parlance, of course, lives in aquatic environments." Because a snail (a terrestrial invertebrate) was previously listed under the act "and could have qualified as such only within the definition of fish," the court opted to liberally construe the act and the Legislature's intent when drafting it.

A problem with this reasoning is that it "seriously undercuts the idea that law is supposed to be clear and accessible to ordinary people," notes George Mason University law professor Ilya Somin. The average person has a particular understanding of what the word fish means and, when reading the law, "would be hard-pressed to figure out that harming bees is a no-no."

And yet, any farmer who harms or kills one of these protected bees could be punished with fines or have their pesticide permits rescinded. That could prove problematic since farmers will have to distinguish the four protected types of bees from the 21 other bumblebee species that can be found in California.

The court's ruling might also empower activists to further stretch the legal definitions of the CESA as they try to get more critters protected. The California Fish and Game Commission "may list any invertebrate as an endangered or threatened species" if the invertebrate meets the requirements of the relevant statutes, the court ruled.

Ladybugs, scorpions, moths, butterflies. Maybe someday they can be fish, too.

Editing and graphics by Isaac Reese; additional editing by Danielle Thompson

libertarian
,
reason magazine
,
reason.com
,
reason.tv
,
reasontv
    Thumbnail for The 5 Most Anti-Libertarian TV Shows Ever!3:44
    The 5 Most Anti-Libertarian TV Shows Ever!
    ReasonVids
    981 views
    Thumbnail for Battlefield Earth - Boardroom Scene2:58
    Battlefield Earth - Boardroom Scene
    phditto
    873 views
    Thumbnail for Preseason projections hate the BYU defense... but should BYU fans even care? I don't think so. | Jeff Hansen9:05
    Preseason projections hate the BYU defense... but should BYU fans even care? I don't think so. | Jeff Hansen
    invidious
    433 views
    Thumbnail for Jiren (Dragon Ball Super) vs Broly - MUGEN (Gameplay) S2 • E402:30
    Jiren (Dragon Ball Super) vs Broly - MUGEN (Gameplay) S2 • E40
    memology101
    1242 views
    Thumbnail for Judge Andrew Napolitano on Election 2016 and Being a Pro-Life Libertarian33:36
    Judge Andrew Napolitano on Election 2016 and Being a Pro-Life Libertarian
    ReasonVids
    1064 views
    Thumbnail for Meanwhile in Japan... 1:48
    Meanwhile in Japan...
    bestofvoatxyz
    703 views
    Thumbnail for IJ Helps Ordinary People Fight Back2:10
    IJ Helps Ordinary People Fight Back
    IJvids
    824 views
    Thumbnail for G.I  Joe   The Movie (1987) Full Movie 4K! | PG Plays Video Games1:33:25
    G.I Joe The Movie (1987) Full Movie 4K! | PG Plays Video Games
    invidious
    411 views
    Thumbnail for Good boy hates niggers0:18
    Good boy hates niggers
    bestofupgoat
    317 views
    Thumbnail for Chezz speedrun18:19
    Chezz speedrun
    AbsolutelyIris
    3456 views
    Thumbnail for What Did #ExxonKnew and When Did They Knew It? - Question For Corbett #04819:19
    What Did #ExxonKnew and When Did They Knew It? - Question For Corbett #048
    corbettreport_uo
    2014 views
    Thumbnail for The Real Reason Man City Are Struggling Without Rodri | #premierleague #mancity | The Athletic FC0:59
    The Real Reason Man City Are Struggling Without Rodri | #premierleague #mancity | The Athletic FC
    invidious
    130 views
    Thumbnail for Redpilling the Niggercattle, One Crowd at a Time1:57
    Redpilling the Niggercattle, One Crowd at a Time
    bestofvoatxyz
    580 views
    Thumbnail for Drug Policy Alliance's Ethan Nadelmann on the Future of Legalization6:36
    Drug Policy Alliance's Ethan Nadelmann on the Future of Legalization
    ReasonVids
    997 views
    Thumbnail for Hollywood meets Wall Street: Author William Stadiem talks Moneywood6:14
    Hollywood meets Wall Street: Author William Stadiem talks Moneywood
    ReasonVids
    903 views
    Thumbnail for Is Facebook a Public Utility? Yes, says Filmmaker Cullen Hoback9:10
    Is Facebook a Public Utility? Yes, says Filmmaker Cullen Hoback
    ReasonVids
    946 views
    Thumbnail for Planning to Escape the Civil War | Live From The Lair19:27
    Planning to Escape the Civil War | Live From The Lair
    Terrence Popp
    1702 views
    Thumbnail for Will California Legalize Pot? Q&A With Tom Ammaniano9:44
    Will California Legalize Pot? Q&A With Tom Ammaniano
    ReasonVids
    925 views
    Thumbnail for Fox News anchor doesn't realize she's live on air when a guest refuses to admit Joe Biden won the presidency0:24
    Fox News anchor doesn't realize she's live on air when a guest refuses to admit Joe Biden won the presidency
    AOU
    1515 views
    Thumbnail for Americans Want to Cut Spending: Q&A with Emily Ekins on new Reason Rupe Public Opinion Survey7:19
    Americans Want to Cut Spending: Q&A with Emily Ekins on new Reason Rupe Public Opinion Survey
    ReasonVids
    934 views
    Thumbnail for Craig Whitney on Living With Guns: A Liberal's Case for the Second Amendment7:06
    Craig Whitney on Living With Guns: A Liberal's Case for the Second Amendment
    ReasonVids
    905 views
    Thumbnail for Mirror: Pannobhasa Mahatera, Q&A #3 (part 1/2) (2021-02-12) 4 views1:24:53
    Mirror: Pannobhasa Mahatera, Q&A #3 (part 1/2) (2021-02-12) 4 views
    SmashTheJourgeoisie
    1000 views
    Thumbnail for Coon gets put on ice0:22
    Coon gets put on ice
    bestofupgoat
    436 views
    Thumbnail for Taxpayers foot bill to fight blind man in court | Denver75:35
    Taxpayers foot bill to fight blind man in court | Denver7
    invidious
    372 views

points

Permalink
Reply
libertarian
,
reason magazine
,
reason.com
,
reason.tv
,
reasontv
TOS  •  Add Keywords  •  Donate  •   Analytics  •   DMCA  •   Puzzle