Assembly Bill 722, a bill that will ban all competitions involving wildlife, has been scheduled for a hearing and possible vote in the Assembly Environmental Conservation Committee. It is expected that this hearing will take place this afternoon, May 29.
Take Action Today! New York hunters should call members of the Assembly Environmental Conservation Committee today, and ask them to vote NO on Assembly Bill 722. See the chart below for telephone numbers for each legislator.
Assembly Member Deborah J. Glick’s (D-Greenwich Village) legislation will ban all hunting competitions involving wildlife. The bill was recently amended to exempt some forms of field trials after hearing complaints from the Sportsmen’s Alliance, Associated Dog Clubs of New York State and many other New York sportsmen. Unfortunately, AB 722 is still so broadly written that it will surely have negative unintended consequences for law-abiding sportsmen.
Additionally, the bill criminalizes just “promoting” an event. The current language in the bill states: “It shall be unlawful for any person to organize, sponsor, conduct, promote, or participate in any contest, competition, tournament or derby with the objective of taking or hunting wildlife for prizes or other inducement, or for entertainment.”
Under this broad language, a person who merely posts on social media about an upcoming informal dog training event involving wildlife could be in violation of the new law. And the penalty is steep! Up to a year of jail time and a fine of up to $2,000!
“AB 722 is poorly written and potentially penalizes many different types of hunters, especially those that hunt with dogs,” said Bruce Tague vice president government affairs. “While the authors of the bill have tried to exempt some field trial events, it still would likely prohibit many common training practices that help prepare sporting dogs and their owners for field trials.”
Steve Englebright (D) [Chair] | 518-455-4804 | Melissa L. Miller (R) | 518-455-3028 |
Thomas J. Abinanti (D) | 518-455-5753 | Anthony H. Palumbo (R) | 518-455-5294 |
Didi Barrett (D) | 518-455-5418 | Andrew P. Raia (R) | 518-455-5952 |
Patrick Burke (D) | 518-455-4691 | Jamie Romeo (D) | 518-455-5373 |
Anthony D’Urso (D) | 518-455-5192 | Sean Ryan (D) | 518-455-4886 |
Patricia A. Fahy (D) | 518-455-4178 | Robert Smullen (R) | 518-455-5393 |
Aileen M. Gunther (D) | 518-455-5355 | Dan Stec (R) | 518-455-5565 |
Michael LiPetri (R) | 518-455-5305 | Chris Tague (R) | 518-455-5363 |
Barbara Lifton (D) | 518-455-5444 | Fred W. Thiele (I) | 518-455-5963 |
Brian D. Miller (R) | 518-455-5334 |
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.