Today the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota issued a critical ruling in favor of wolves’ legal protection — determining that gray wolves are not excluded from the Endangered Species Act even if they have some detectable dog genes.

The Animal Legal Defense Fund and the Lockwood Animal Rescue Center filed the lawsuit in 2017 against Fur-Ever Wild, a Minnesota-based business, alleging that the facility displays wolf pups in a petting zoo and later skins them for their fur.

Read the Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment.