Connecticut: Anti-Hunting Bill is likely Dead while Pro-Hunting Bill Continues to Progress!

As the legislative session moves forward in Connecticut, the voices of sportsmen are being heard across the state as Senate Bill 994 is likely dead and House Bill 5209 continues to advance.

Senate Bill 994, introduced by the Environment Committee, would effectively prohibit recreational trapping by banning the use of the most common and humane forms of traps – leghold and conibear-style traps.  SB994 is likely dead for the year, as it failed to advance out of the Senate Judiciary Committee last week.

If SB994 were enacted, it would have very serious consequences on virtually all wildlife in the state.  Furbearers prey on many of the species of animals that we hunt.  They have their place within the ecosystem but, like with many other animals, their populations must be actively managed in order to maintain a balance.  If species currently managed through regulated trapping in Connecticut are able to expand well beyond their current numbers, hunters and the wildlife on which they depend will lose!

SB994 would have put us one step closer to allowing emotion, not science, to dictate wildlife management practices. 

On Wednesday, March 18, House Bill 5209 passed out of the Joint Environment Committee.  Sponsored by State Representative Craig Miner (R-66), this critical pro-hunting bill will ensure hunters in Connecticut that their public hunting acreage will never decrease.  Also known as "no-net-loss," HB5209 would require that the state maintain the level of available public recreational lands, which includes public hunting lands, that currently exist.  Simply stated, if enacted, additional lands would have to be opened to hunting if land currently open to hunting is closed.  HB5209 is now awaiting action on the House Floor. 

We encourage you to once again contact members of the Connecticut House of Representatives and encourage them to preserve your hunting rights by voting yes on HB5209.  To find contact information for all of the members of the Connecticut House of Representatives, click here.