Dodgers Pitcher Sues Over Endangered Ocelots

Josh Beckett says pipeline builder destroyed its habitat on his land
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Oct 17, 2012 3:52 PM CDT
Dodgers Pitcher Sues Over Endangered Ocelots
This Sept. 13, 2012 file photo shows Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Josh Beckett throwing during the first inning of a baseball game against the St. Louis Cardinals in Los Angeles.   (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, File)

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Josh Beckett is suing a pipeline builder, claiming it destroyed the habitat of the endangered ocelot on his huge South Texas ranch. The lawsuit filed by the pitcher's Beckett Ventures Inc. says Eagle Ford Midstream LP violated the federal Endangered Species Act by clearing land to build a natural gas pipeline.

The suit says the pipeline company was awarded eminent domain on land owned by Beckett Ventures and falsely told the US Fish & Wildlife Service that it wasn't suitable habitat for the endangered wild cat. Beckett himself says he has seen the animal and its tracks on the 7,000-acre spread. His company claims the pipeline builder engaged in "willful destruction" by clearing the land, even after an alternative route was proposed, reports the LA Times. (More Josh Beckett stories.)

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