A U.S. federal judge has ruled that hand-reared fish should be counted in efforts to save wild, imperiled salmon, and the U.S. government earlier this month decided not to challenge the ruling. As a result, two dozen West Coast salmon runs could be stripped from the endangered species list. These developments have outraged conservationists, who say counting hatchery fish is like tallying zoo animals when deciding whether their wild brethren are threatened with extinction.