Dealing with vagueness in threatened species classification

Endangered species classification uses categories that are intrinsically vague which presents problems for those involved in the classification process. This is usually dealt with by providing precise definitions of the relevant categories. In this paper we propose a fuzzy set-theoretic alternative that maintains the inherent vagueness of the categories in question without compromising the utility of the classification scheme. Moreover, we argue that, in many cases, it leads to intuitively more appropriate classifications