Bees are legally considered fish in California

PORTLAND, Or. (KGW) – The California State Appellate Court has ruled that bees are legally considered fish.

California’s Fish and Game Commission and agricultural groups have been fighting about the issue since 2019 when the commission added some bumblebees to the state’s endangered species act.

To do that, they had to list the insect under the fish umbrella, but agricultural groups sued arguing insects were not directly listed in the statute and therefore could not be protected.

In 2020, a district court sided with them, but the commission appealed.

The state argued other invertebrates are already defined as fish.

For example, the Bristle snail, which doesn’t live in water, is on the list under fish.

This time around the appellate court sided with the commission.

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