TRAPPING NOW EXTINCT-Trapping in California has wiped out entire species in the past. Now the Wildlife Protection Act is wiping out trapping in the state entirely.
On Wednesday, September 4th, California became the first state to ban fur trapping for recreational and commercial purposes through the Wildlife Protection Act of 2019. The Act prohibits the trapping of native animals like the grey fox, coyote, beaver, badger, and mink. It also prohibits the sale of the pelts which typically end up in foreign markets.
Trapping may seem violent to some but to others, it is a way of life. Residents of other states might trap animals on a more regular basis. However, California trapping has not been a way of life to more than 68 people for quite some time. Fur trapping dates back before California’s Gold Rush in 1848. But in more recent years has not been practiced by many in the state. For example, in 2017 only 68 trappers reported killing 1,568 of the species banned under the Act.
Although State Senator Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego) and her constituents like PETA may be excited the Act passed, hunters will see this Act as California banning one way to hunt which can easily flow to other styles and hunting. For a state that continues to ban everything related to firearms and methods of hunting, it isn’t too crazy to think the state will look to ban other forms of hunting. Under the Act itself, Section 4 prohibits “complete antlers, whole heads with antlers, antlers that are mounted for display, or antlers in velvet” from being sold or purchased unless authorized under Section 3087. This also creates a prohibition on buying, selling, or trading the furs procured from trapping the animals. Fines may also be imposed up to $5,000.00 under the Act.
Hunting in California may be legal for now, but it is small bans like this that are attached to bills which will take hunting freedoms away in this once great state.
You can read the full Act at the following URL: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201920200AB273
What do you think about trapping being outlawed? Let us know in the comments below!
