Sportsmen’s Calls and Emails Needed Immediately!
Three Vermont Senate bills that would ban coyote hunting with hounds, foothold traps and that would completely neuter the voice of sportsmen in wildlife management have two more days to pass before a Friday deadline for legislation to advance to the second chamber. All three bills are pending before the Senate Natural Resources & Energy Committee. Committee members have reported being swamped by calls and emails by sportsmen opposing the bills. Senate bills must be voted out by the end of the day on Friday, March 11 to be considered by the House. Let’s keep up the pressure!
Here is a breakdown of the three bills:
Senate Bill 129 reduces the Fish and Wildlife Board to an advisory body and gives majority appointing authority for board membership to the legislature. The Fish and Wildlife Commissioner could appoint four of the 12 board members with the remaining eight positions filled by legislative appointment.
Senate Bill 281 would prohibit the use of dogs to hunt coyotes. The committee has received no biological justification for the ban as coyotes are a prolific non-native species and a leading cause of human-wildlife conflict.
Senate Bill 201 would ban foothold traps. This legislation will cause increases in the spread of rabies, increases in crop depredation, infrastructure damage and predation of ground-nesting species such as ducks and turkeys, among other wildlife-related conflicts.
“Communications by Vermont hunters, anglers and trappers have made a difference so far,” said Dillon Barto, manager of state services for Sportsmen’s Alliance. “Now is the time to send a final email to Senators on the committee to try to defeat these anti-hunting bills.”
Act Now! Contacts for committee members:
- Senator Becca Balint: [email protected] (802) 257-4162 (Senate President Pro Tempore)
- Senator Chris Bray: [email protected] (802) 453-3444 (Committee Chairman)
- Senator Rich Westman: [email protected] (802) 644-2297
- Senator Mark MacDonald: [email protected] (802) 272-1101
- Senator Brian Campion: [email protected] (802) 375-4376
- Senator Richard McCormack: [email protected] (802) 793-6417
About the Sportsmen’s Alliance: The Sportsmen’s Alliance protects and defends America’s wildlife conservation programs and the pursuits – hunting, fishing and trapping – that generate the money to pay for them. Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation is responsible for public education, legal defense and research. Its mission is accomplished through several distinct programs coordinated to provide the most complete defense capability possible. Stay connected to Sportsmen’s Alliance: Online, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.