New York State Legislature Passes Bill Banning Wildlife Killing Contests

[TTL News 318]

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New York State lawmakers this month passed a controversial bill that would ban wildlife killing contests. The ban would outlaw any “contest, competition, tournament or derby where the objective of such contest or competition is to take wildlife.”

The legislation passed the New York Senate earlier this month, and the Assembly last week. It now heads to Gov. Kathy Hochul’s desk. If she signs it into law, New York would join eight other states in banning these events.

State lawmakers have crafted bills outlawing wildlife killing contests since 2003. But until now none of those bills has ever made it out of committee.

The most recent legislation, sponsored by Deborah Glick, a Manhattan Democrat, passed the NYS Assembly by a vote of 86-54 after a contentious floor debate featuring CNY lawmakers claiming that it unfairly punishes upstate residents.

Jeff Gallahan (R-131), whose district spans the Finger Lakes, called the legislation a “direct hit on the upstate culture.” Mohawk Valley lawmaker Robert Smullen (R-118) said it represented “a cultural difference that cannot be bridged”. John Lemondes (R-126) of Lafayette labelled it “an explicit infringement on hunting rights and second amendment privileges.”

Lemondes, who owns a sheep farm, also said that banning coyote contests in particular would negatively impact agriculture and hunting opportunities, since coyotes ravage sheep and turkey flocks.

“Coyotes are one of our most economically destructive species in New York State,” he said.

 

Read the rest of the article here. 

Do you support a ban on wildlife hunting contests?

[Chris 2,224]

I can't say I'm a fan of killing anything merely for sport or money. It reminds me too much of the old bounty systems that led to the decimation of native species in the past.