A Humane Society of the United States-backed bill to end the bobcat hunting season in California is one step closer to becoming law. Despite opposition by the California Department of Finance and sportsmen, the California legislature passed Assembly Bill 1254, sending it to Gov. Gavin Newsom to be signed into law.
Take Action Today! California sportsmen should call Gov. Newsom and ask him to veto AB 1254. Members can contact the governor by phone (916) 445-2841 or by clicking on the link: https://govapps.gov.ca.gov/gov40mail/ .
AB 1254 is a perfect example of how the animal-rights lobby and anti-hunting legislators are getting more and more creative in their attempt to ban hunting. Under AB 1254, the state would face a moratorium on bobcat hunting until at least January 2025. However, language included in the bill requires that after that five-year ban has expired, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife could only re-open a season following the completion of a new management plan, which has been estimated to cost $2.5 million.
“The legislature is ignoring its own Department of Finance that opposes this legislation,” said Luke Houghton, Sportsmen’s Alliance associate director of state services. “Everyone knows the California legislature isn’t going to appropriate millions of dollars to reopen a hunting season, so this bill is a de facto ban on bobcat hunting disguised as ‘commonsense’ but absent any scientific or fiscal responsibility.”
The California Department of Finance, which evaluates the fiscal impact of legislation, opposes the bill because “it could exacerbate the Fish and Game Preservation Fund’s structural imbalance, which would hinder the Department’s ability to carry out core programs and eliminates a source of revenue.”
“None of this has anything to do with the population of bobcats in the Golden state. California has an abundant, healthy and thriving bobcat population, this is simply anti-hunting politics at its worst,” continued Houghton.
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.