cull

A controversial plan to kill one owl species to save another cleared a major hurdle.

The full Senate on Wednesday struck down a GOP effort to prevent the cull of up to 450,000 barred owls in the Pacific Northwest over three decades, ending a saga that created strange political bedfellows.

It’s a major win for environmentalists and federal wildlife officials who want to protect northern spotted owls that have been crowded out by their larger, more aggressive cousins. In recent weeks they got an unlikely ally in loggers who said scuttling the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service plan could hinder timber sales.

But it’s a blow to an equally unusual alliance that includes right-wing politicians and animal rights advocates who argue the cull is too expensive and inhumane. The Trump administration leaned on Republican lawmakers to get out of the way, scrambling partisan lines.

Sen. John Kennedy, a conservative from Louisiana, sought to nix the owl-killing plan via the Congressional Review Act, which can be used to overturn recent rules by federal agencies.

Kennedy said Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, whose portfolio includes timber production, recently called him and told him to abandon the resolution. This month logging advocates said that stopping the cull would jeopardize timber production goals set by the Trump administration.

But Kennedy was not persuaded.

“The secretary needed to call somebody who cared what he thought, because I think he’s wrong,” Kennedy said on the Senate floor. “I think he and the other members of the administrative state at the Department of the Interior decided to play God.”

Flanked by pictures of owls and bumbling cartoon hunter Elmer Fudd, Kennedy praised barred owls for their “soulful eyes” and “incredibly soft” feathers. But he acknowledged they’re better hunters than spotted owls. Barred owls, which moved over from eastern North America, are outcompeting spotted owls for food and shelter in their native territory.

Louisiana Senator John Kennedy spearheaded a resolution to overturn the Biden-era plan to cull barred owls, even after he said the Trump administration told him to back down.

(Senate Banking Committee)

Ultimately the resolution failed 72 to 25, with three lawmakers not voting. Nearly all those who voted in favor of the resolution were Republican, but even more Republicans voted against it. The Fish and Wildlife Service approved the barred owl cull last year under the Biden Administration.

“I feel a lot of relief because this was one of the most major threats to the long-term, continued existence of the northern spotted owl in many years,” said Tom Wheeler, executive director of the Environmental Protection Information Center. “We’ve passed this hurdle, which isn’t to say there aren’t other hurdles or road bumps up ahead, but this feels good.”

Wheeler described the failed effort as a “nuclear threat” — if the resolution had passed, the Fish and Wildlife Service would have been blocked from pursuing any similar rule, unless explicitly authorized by Congress.

Now Wheeler said he and his allies will continue to push for the owl cull to be carried out, and for federal funding to support it.

Animal welfare advocates like Wayne Pacelle, president of Animal Wellness Action and Center for a Humane Economy, are dismayed.

“What this means is that not only are barred owls at extreme risk of large-scale shooting, but spotted owls and old-growth forests are at risk from chainsaws,” Pacelle said of the failed resolution.

Pacelle’s camp vowed to continue the fight. A lawsuit challenging the hunt they filed against the federal government last fall is moving forward. And they’ll try to ensure money doesn’t flow to the program.

In May, federal officials canceled three related grants in California totaling more than $1.1 million, including one study that would have included lethally removing barred owls from more than 192,000 acres in Mendocino and Sonoma counties.

However, there are other projects to kill barred owls in the Golden State, according to Peter Tira, a spokesperson for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

One $4.3-million grant issued by the state agency will support barred owl removal in the northwestern part of the state, along with other research. Another grant issued by NASA to a university involves killing barred owls in California as well as creating a tool to prioritize areas where the raptors need to be managed.

It’s not clear how or if the government shutdown, now stretching into its 31st day, is affecting the projects, Tira said in an email.

LOOSE Women star Judi Love has landed a huge new job just days after ITV announced their daytime cull.

The ITV show’s line-up had been left in the dark about cuts to their lunchtime talk show, which will take effect from January amid a cash crisis.

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Sweeping changes announced earlier this month mean the female-led, lunchtime talk show will only air for 30 weeks a year.

So, it’s a good job Judi, 44, has bagged herself a lucrative podcasting gig to keep the cash rolling in.

The comedian announced on Instagram today that the first episode of Our Table will be released tomorrow.

Fellow Loose Woman Charlene White is joining her, along with actor David Gyasi, comedian Michelle Deswarte and actress Deborah Ayorinde.

She wrote: “Our Table will launch on Friday, the 30th, on YouTube and all major podcast platforms!

“We have an exciting series lined up, featuring incredible guests and engaging conversations. Join us at Our Table!! #Ourtable #JudiLove.”

A second post saw the Strictly star posed with her special guests ahead of the series premiere.

The Sun previously revealed how Loose Women is in chaos backstage with some of the stars doing the show “through gritted teeth” as they face a 60 per cent pay cut. 

An insider told us: “It’s very tense backstage as the cast are all fuming. It’s like they’re putting on a brave face and doing the show through gritted teeth. 

“Some people’s pay could be cut by 60% as some get paid by the episode and they’ll be slashed next year.

“For some it’s their main source of income and it’s worrying to everyone.”

This comes after an ITV source revealed: “We are not planning any radical changes to the panel.

“All of our Loose Women are hugely valued and we celebrate each and every one and the experience and opinions they bring to the show every day.

“Many of our long standing panellists have appeared on the show for the majority of its 25 year run on screens and those stalwart, Loose legends are at the core of the show’s success and hugely popular with the audience.

“The show remains a big priority within our daytime slate, having secured a BAFTA nomination, launched a podcast and celebrated a milestone anniversary in the last year alone.”

MORE ITV CUTS

Loose Women isn’t the only show affected by recently announced changes at ITV, that will come into play in 2026.

Lorraine Kelly’s show has been cut to just 30 minutes a day and will also only air for 30 weeks of the year.

Good Morning Britain, with hosts including Susanna Reid, Ed Balls and Kate Garraway, will take half an hour from Lorraine and will run from 6am to 9.30am.

More than 220 jobs will be lost as part of the shake-up — almost half of the 450 employed on the four flagship shows GMB, Lorraine, This Morning and Loose Women.

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After ITV announced a major shakeup to it’s daytime television shows, it’s feared Loose Women’s cast could be cut by up to a third with the show being reduced across the year

Major changes are coming to ITV, and it could spell bad news for a number of popular presenters. It was announced recently that the organisation is having a massive shake-up with how its daytime TV will feature, and it appears the Loose Women crew could feel the full force of the switches.

ITV daytime is set to look very different in a few months following the announcement of the huge change. It sees a rejig of a number of shows, including Good Morning Britain. ITV news and magazine shows usually run from 6am to 1.30pm weekdays and include the breakfast show followed by Lorraine, This Morning and Loose Women.

However, from January 2026, Good Morning Britain will be extended by 30 minutes to run from 6am to 9.30am daily. The change also sees Lorraine Kelly’s show cut in half.

It will now run from 9.30am until 10am, and only be on our screens for 30 weeks of the year – the same amount of weeks as Loose Women will now air.

It’s thought up to a third of the 26-strong pool of Loose Women presenters could now face losing their job. A source told The Sun: “Everyone is completely gutted and in shock.

“We can’t believe they would dismantle these brilliant shows. It’s the death of daytime TV.”

Another added: “There’s no way all the Loose Women will be needed now there’ll be far fewer episodes to fill.”

Despite the on-screen show being cut, Loose Women: The Podcast will continue and provide more work for the cast.

The overhaul was announced yesterday by Kevin Lygo, managing director of ITV’s media and entertainment division. He said: “Daytime is a really important part of what we do, and these scheduling and production changes will enable us to continue to deliver a schedule providing viewers with the news, debate and discussion they love from the presenters they know and trust as well generating savings which will allow us to reinvest across the programme budget in other genres.

“These changes also allow us to consolidate our news operations and expand our national, international and regional news output and to build upon our proud history of trusted journalism at a time when our viewers need accurate, unbiased news coverage more than ever.”

He added: “I recognise that our plans will have an impact on staff off screen in our Daytime production teams.

“We will work with ITV Studios and ITN as they manage these changes to produce the shows differently from next year, and support them through this transition.

“Daytime has been a core element of ITV’s schedule for over 40 years and these changes will set ITV up to continue to bring viewers award winning news, views and discussion as we enter our eighth decade.”

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