California: Senate Public Safety Committee Scheduled to Hear Anti-Hunting Bill on Tuesday

Contact the Members of the Senate Public Safety Committee

 On Tuesday, April 24, anti-hunting bill, SB 1487, the Iconic African Species Protection Act is scheduled to be heard by the Senate Public Safety Committee at 8:30 AM in room 3191.  Please use the TAKE ACTION button below to contact the members of the Senate Public Safety Committee and urge them to OPPOSE SB 1487.

Senate Bill 1487 originally dealt with the public utilities code, but was gutted and amended to enact the Iconic African Species Protection Act. This bill would prohibit the possession of certain African species of wildlife.  The true goal of the bill is to ensure that a lawful U.S. hunter is not allowed to bring home a hunting trophy—even though the animal was legally taken and the hunter has the approval of the U.S. Federal Government.

Not only would SB 1487 violate federal law and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), but the bill has no basis in science, does not recognize the great contribution of hunters to wildlife conservation and cherry picks certain African species based on popularity instead of biological necessity.  While this bill deals specifically with African species, make no mistake that this is the first step towards banning hunting domestically.  The same animal rights activists that support this bill have also made clear that they intend to ban all hunting in the future.

The importation of lawfully hunted wildlife from abroad is already heavily regulated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 and through CITES.  The purpose of CITES is to ensure that international trade in wild animals and plants does not threaten their continued survival.  The U.S. is an active participant to CITES and enforces the treaty by requiring permits for the importation of wildlife into the U.S.  Instead of recognizing this process, SB 1487 would simply ban the import of certain species of African wildlife with no consideration of conservation of the species whatsoever.  Further, because SB 1487 would conflict with the Endangered Species Act, it would likely be ruled invalid by the courts if enacted into law.

Continue to check your inbox and the California Stand and Fight web page for updates on issues impacting your Second Amendment rights and hunting heritage in California.