California court rules that bees are a type of fish in order to protect them under the state's endangered species act ... "The issue presented here is whether the bumble bee, a terrestrial invertebrate, falls within the definition of fish," the judges wrote in their ruling. And, they concluded, it does. Formerly, the problem for bee-lovers — and lovers of all Californian terrestrial invertebrates — was down to the way protected animals have been classified in the state's laws. Although four different bee species were classified as endangered in 2018, land invertebrates are not explicitly protected under the state's Endangered Species Act (CESA), which protects endangered "native species or subspecies of a bird, mammal, fish, amphibian, reptile, or plant." But CESA's Fish and Game Code, which establishes the basis on which plants and animals are protected, defines "fish" as "a wild fish, mollusk, crustacean, invertebrate, amphibian, or part, spawn, or ovum of any of those animals." Given that many of the above marine creatures aren't even fish, California has been arguing ever since about whether "invertebrates" here should apply to bees. The appeal overturns an earlier ruling in November 2020 that was backed by major agricultural groups, Law & Crime reported. There, the judge argued that "invertebrates" in the Fish and Game Code's "fish" definition only applied to marine invertebrates, like anemones or sea urchins. But on Tuesday's appeal, the judges argued that they are obliged to "liberally" interpret CESA's terms in order to make sure it can be effective. "Although the term fish is colloquially and commonly understood to refer to aquatic species," the judges said, legislative jargon in this case could be justified in expanding the definition to include bees. The judges noted that frogs are also protected under the "fish" section, due to its inclusion of amphibians. They also argued that land-based invertebrates have been protected under the category of "fish" under the statute in the past, such as in 1980 when the Trinity bristle snail was protected. https://www.insider.com/bees-offici...ornia-judges-ruling-endangered-species-2022-6
Thanks rusty, but you fucked up the dad joke. Oh god, I just realized you aren't a teenager, you are a middle aged guy trying to be cool so he can hang out with the teens and tell them all how things are. Dude, you are that grey haired guy who is always at the high school trying to give teenage expensive gifts and be their old white sugar daddy. I might never see you as the boy again if this image lasts through me being stoned. Who am I kidding, I might just do both from now on since continuity does not matter,
