US President Donald Trump signed an executive order Friday that suspends all federal employment opportunities for people in hog hunting, a ban that has been blocked by federal courts.
The order also suspends federal grants for conservation programs and prohibits federal agencies from contracting with companies that violate the ban.
Trump signed the order after an eight-day delay.
Trump’s executive order suspends employment opportunities in federal employment for anyone who is convicted of a felony or misdemeanor offense related to the federal prohibition on hog hunting.
The ban was implemented in 2014 by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The USFWS also suspended all federal funds to the Department of the Interior from July 1, 2019, to March 31, 2020, because of the ban, the agency said in a statement.
Trump said in his order that the moratorium will help to protect wildlife, the environment and other species and that it “will also help to prevent the spread of rabies.”
The Trump administration said it will also use the moratorium to protect animals, wildlife habitat and other federal programs.
The Trump team is also issuing an executive action banning federal contracts with companies which violate the hog hunting ban.
The Federal Aviation Administration and the Bureau of Land Management have also announced that they will no longer offer federal contracts to companies that use or have used illegal or deceptive practices to circumvent federal regulations.
Federal officials are also working on a new regulation to address the use of electronic devices in hunting.
The Trump government has been under scrutiny for the number of federal jobs that were lost to the moratorium, but Trump has said he wants to increase the number and he has been given the authority to do so.