Senate Bill 3, a scheme to slide the state fish and wildlife agency under the Commissioner of Agriculture, was passed out of the Senate today 20-16 when Senate leadership put the screws to everyone to vote for the blatant power grab. Despite opposition from every major sportsmen-related organization in the state and throughout the nation, the power grab is still being supported by a number of legislators who are putting politics above Kentucky’s cherished outdoor heritage.
We’ve even heard that Senate leadership told sitting senators that all the “noise” from sporting and conservation groups was flat wrong and to ignore them. In a classic “we know better than you” move, sportsmen and -women were told to sit down and be quiet.
Now the bill moves on to the House, where those who believe in the North American Model of Fish and Wildlife management have got to make their voices heard. The House needs to hear that SB 3 will create the very “first of its kind” management structure anywhere in the country. Where instead of leading the country in treating sportsmen well, Kentucky will lead the nation as the only state where agriculture controls the fish and wildlife agency. That’s right, the only state.
And this remains true when one considers the liberal states of the far west and northeast. Kentucky will be far ahead of them with a new way to crater fish and wildlife and the sportsmen who support them with financial backing that goes back more than a century.
In no state, not even those dominated by extreme anti-hunters, is fish and wildlife placed under the thumb of an Agriculture Commissioner. In no other state are hunters, anglers, and trappers relegated to second-class citizenship so clearly and permanently.
In short, this is a terrible scheme driven by politics, not what’s good for Kentucky sportsmen and -women.
“It is beyond foolish for Kentucky legislators to play politics with fish and wildlife while pushing to become the only state that puts fish and wildlife under agriculture,” said Todd Adkins, vice president of government affairs at the Sportsmen’s Alliance. “We have to make them hear the truth, that this is one of the most anti-hunting bills introduced anywhere in the country this year and it must be stopped.”
Use our Take Action Button to email AND call your state Representative urging him/her not to play politics with the DFWR and the proper management of Kentucky’s wildlife resources. Now is the time to fill up those email inboxes and voicemails letting state representatives know sportsmen and -women are not going to sit quietly and watch the destruction of the Bluegrass State’s successful wildlife management department.
Do not forget to share this crucial alert with your family, friends, and fellow sportsmen. Kentucky is going to need all its sportsmen and -women emailing and calling their State Representative urging them not to play political games with the state’s wildlife management.
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.
