New York initiative bill must be defeated to save hunting in the state (5/6/2002)

New York-

The New York Senate has overwhelmingly approved a bill that could make it very easy for animal rights groups to ban hunting and trapping in the Empire State. The bill would allow citizens to directly submit legislation to the voters, a tactic that the anti’s have used in the past to eliminate hunting and trapping in several states.

New York Senators voted 57-3 in favor of Senate Bill 7306, which would give New York the initiative process. If this bill passes the state Assembly, New York sportsmen can kiss their hunting rights good-bye.

Animal rights groups have used the initiative process to take hunting and trapping rights away from sportsmen in Arizona, California, Colorado, Massachusetts, Oregon and Washington. These sportsmen lost the ability to trap, bear hunt, cougar hunt and lynx hunt.

In all of these states, the major metropolitan areas, with large populations, had the deciding vote. Keep in mind that these are places where people have had virtually no exposure to rural lifestyles or outdoor sports. To have any chance to protect hunting in New York, sportsmen will have to spend millions on television campaigns in those areas. Where sportsmen are able to raise overwhelming warchests, they win. Where sportsmen fail to raise the necessary funds, they lose – every time.

Even in the states in which sportsmen have won, the cost of success was astronomical. Victory had a price tag of $1 million in Arizona (to save all hunting, fishing and trapping), $2 million in Michigan (to save bear hunting) and $2.6 million in Ohio (to save dove hunting). In each of these cases, it took sportsmen nearly two years to raise their campaign funds.

New York hunters have been spared this one-sided playing field because the state does not have the initiative process. If Senate Bill 7306 becomes law, New York City will control the outcome of every initiative. The television market area of New York City represents nearly 11 million residents (58 percent) of the 19 million people in the state.

To win, sportsmen will have to dominate every other area of the state from Buffalo to Syracuse, and still find a way to hold their own in the Big Apple. This is the same area that voted in favor of Hillary Rodham Clinton by 75 percent. Outside of the city, Clinton only got 48 percent of the vote, but winning New York City gave her the election.

The U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance’s media experts estimate a successful campaign to protect hunting or trapping would cost $4 million.

Trapping will probably be the first piece of our heritage to be wiped out in New York, and things will likely go downhill from there. When the anti’s win, they come back. This has happened in California, Oregon and Washington and New York will see the same thing. The next part of our heritage to go could be bowhunting or hunting with dogs.

The only way to avoid this is to get on the telephone and stop the advancement of Senate Bill 7306. Call your State Assemblyman now. Tell him or her that sportsmen oppose Senate Bill 7306. Be sure to leave your address to prove you are a constituent. Get your friends and family to make a call too. Your hunting future depends on it.

To learn your legislator’s name and for contact information, call (518) 455-4218.

CopyrightÓ  U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance- www.ussportsmen.org

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