California Anti-Hunting Bill

[Bev]

Cross posted from Showbeagle-L:

Hi guys,

Sorry this is long, but it's important information that I have not seen
mentioned here. I'm hoping that people with Beagles, a traditional
hunting breed, will care about this, and will call and write their
legislators to fight this hunting ban. As it is written, it will
certainly curtail hunting with Beagles in California!

Thanks for your assistance.

Donna Smiley-Auborn
Kingsbury Harriers
Inyokern, CA
auborn@harriers.net
-----------------------------

B 2110 UPDATE AND OPPOSITION LETTER (AT BOTTOM) FAX and Mail
Letter - do not e-mail.....find 100 people, friends, relatives,
neighbors to also send letters. After the letter you will find a
list of Public Safety Committee members.


We know it has seemed a slow start in our fight against AB2110,
however it was essential that we developed the right strategy and
that we worked to build coalitions with other groups first. NOFCA
has been in constant contact with Sportsmen's Alliance (USSA). One
of their board members is on NOFCA's crisis committee and has been a
source of great help! In addition, through USSA, NOFCA was able to
contact and work with lobbyists from California Waterfowl
Association. The gentlemen we are working with led the fight to
oppose AB342 two years ago and won!

We cannot stress the importance of everyone having the same message.
We must be one voice! There are three main points:

POINT #1: Coursing is hunting. All NOFCA participants regularly hunt
alone (as do many other hunters who do not participate with NOFCA.)
In fact, this is what they primarily do. We are out in the field to
take game. Our trials are just a small part of what we do and are no
different than retriever or pointer trials. They merely give us a
structured format in which to evaluate which of our dogs are the
best hunters and therefore the best dogs for breeding. Important
point: We are breeding to develop dogs which will better assist us
in hunting.

Regarding the argument that we could lure course instead of hunting:
Lure Coursing is a fun activity for many people, but it does not
take the place of hunting which is what we are doing. Refer to point
#1.

POINT #2: The appropriate place for this kind of law is through the
Department of Fish & Game, not the Assembly. Fish and Game was set
up to regulate hunting. They should be regulating this form of
hunting as well. Fish & Game stands to lose revenue from hunt
licenses if OFC banned. In addition, the rural communities where we
hunt will also lose important revenue. Our form of hunting is well-
regulated by Fish and Game. It is because of sound wildlife
management by the Department of Fish and Game and the Commission
that we have thriving populations of wildlife, including hares, in
the state. Open field coursers, as licensed hunters, are proud to
participate with the Department in management efforts to conserve
and enhance all wildlife populations for future generations.

POINT #3: This bill is poorly written!!!!! This law is in effect a
state-wide leash law – under this proposed law, any person who
untethers a dog in a location where the person knows there are
rabbits/hares/foxes would be breaking the law and could be arrested
for animal cruelty if the dog pursues any of the above game. This
includes dogs untethered at beaches, hills, large parks AND on
private property. In other words, if you know there are
hares/rabbits on your property and you allow your dog to run loose
on your property and your dog pursues and kills a rabbit/hare, you
could be arrested for animal cruelty.

CONTACTING LEGISLATORS: Please contact your Assembly member
immediately and schedule an appointment. We want them to hear our
side first rather than trying to refute arguments they are have
already heard from the opposition. When the meetings occur – use the
arguments above! If you have questions or are unsure about going
alone, we will try to find someone to go with you if at all possible.

DONATIONS: We need your donations for this fight!! Checks should be
made payable to "Coursing Defense Fund" and mailed to P.O. Box 108,
Pope Valley, CA 94567.

COMMITTEE HEARING: We have a matter of weeks before we will have to
testify.
We need as many people as possible to go to the hearing. Only 2 or 3
individuals will testify on our behalf and they will be chosen by
our lobbyists and NOFCA. (When you go, be sure to wear clothing that
identifies you as a hunter.)

SOLANO COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS: We need as many people as
possible to attend the next Solano County Board of Supervisors
meeting. W will get the dates to you as soon as possible. Again,
wear clothing that identifies you as a hunter.

SAMPLE LETTER TO PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE

Please FAX this letter to ALL members of the Public Safety
committee, then sent via U S Mail. DO NOT E-mail. They count actual
paper! However, the mailed letters will take longer due to security
measures.


(Date)

The Honorable Mark Leno, Chair

Assembly Public Safety Committee
1020 N Street, Room 111
Sacramento, CA 95814

RE: AB 2110 (Hancock) – Oppose

Dear Assembly Member Leno:

I am writing you to urge your opposition to AB 2110 (Hancock), which
would make it a crime to hunt rabbits, hares or foxes by means
of "field coursing."

This bill proposes to outlaw a traditional hunting practice known as
field coursing which, prior to the advent of modern firearms, was
the prime method for hunting most game mammals but, like falconry
practiced today, remains an important part of contemporary hunting.
In California, it is mostly used to harvest jackrabbits—a very
abundant wild game species. Rather than utilizing firearms to
harvest the animal, licensed hunters use dogs that have been
specifically bred over centuries for coursing purposes. Although
the goal of traditional field coursing is to ultimately harvest the
jackrabbit for food, the dogs used are also judged on their speed,
agility and endurance, similar to field trials and hunt tests for
Labrador retrievers and other sporting breeds.

Far from being an especially cruel or unsporting form of hunting,
traditional field coursing is considered one of the most "fair
chase" hunting methods because it does not rely on modern
technology, results in relatively few successful hunts and closely
mimics the natural predator/prey relationship that has evolved
between jackrabbits and canine-related species, such as coyotes, for
thousands of years. In fact, President Teddy Roosevelt, perhaps our
country's greatest conservationist and one of the founding fathers
of the fair chase concept, was an avid courser.

More importantly, because of poor drafting, AB 2110 would
significantly impact other types of hunting and activities which
involve the use of unleashed dogs. In doing so, it would make
criminals out of many people who do not necessarily directly engage
in traditional field coursing. For example, rabbit hunters
typically use beagles and other hunting dog breeds to track and
flush rabbits so that they may be ultimately harvested with a
shotgun or rifle. Similarly, when hunting pheasants or quail, dogs
used to flush and retrieve game often incidentally chase (and even
kill) rabbits and hares. It should also be noted that virtually
anyone walking an unleashed dog that chases and injures or kills a
rabbit, hare, or fox could fall under AB 2110's harsh penalties.

Finally, please note that, by banning a specific type of hunting and
imposing significant penalties that would be applied to other types
of hunting, this bill will undoubtedly result in fewer hunting
licenses sold in California. The net effect will be less funding
for both the CA Dept. of Fish and Game and important wildlife
conservation activities that depend on hunting-related revenue.

AB 2110 is not biologically justified, poorly written and represents
an indirect attack upon California's hunting community that would
result in less funding for the Department of Fish and Game and
wildlife conservation efforts. I therefore strongly urge you to
oppose this measure.

Sincerely,


(Your Name or Organization)



Assembly Public Safety Committee 2005


Mark Leno (D-13) Chair
Capitol Building #3146
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone:916/319-2013
FAX:916/319-2113
Email: assemblymember.leno@assembly.ca.gov

Jay La Suer (R-77) Vice Chair
Capitol Building #5160
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone:916/319-2077
FAX:916/319-2177
Email: assemblymember.laSuer@assembly.ca.gov

Rebecca Cohn (D-24)
Capitol Building #3160
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone:116/319-2024
FAX:916/319-2124
Email: assemblymember.cohn@assembly.ca.gov

Mervyn Dymally (D-52)
Capitol Building #3123
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone:916/319-2052
FAX:916/319-2152
Email: assemblymember.dymally@assembly.ca.gov


Jackie Goldberg (D-45)
Capitol Building #2003
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone:916/319-2045
FAX:916/319-2145
Email: assemblymember.goldberg@assembly.ca.gov

Todd Spitzer (R-71)
Capitol Building #2111
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone:916/319-2071
FAX:916/319-2171
Email: assemblymember.spitzer@assembly.ca.gov


ACTION ALERT

To: CWA Action Team Members and Other Interested Parties

From: CWA Government Affairs Department

Subject: AB 2110 (Hancock) – Ban on Field Coursing/Hunting
Rabbits and Foxes with Dogs

Date: March 7, 2006

Your assistance is urgently needed to defeat AB 2110 – a poorly
drafted and ambiguous anti-hunting measure that would not only ban
traditional field coursing, but would also effectively outlaw the
use of dogs when hunting rabbits or foxes.

This bill is primarily aimed at "field coursing", a centuries-old
hunting practice that was developed prior to the advent of modern
firearms and employs dogs, such as whippets and greyhounds, to take
small game species. Conceptually, it is most similar to falconry.
In California, it is primarily used to harvest jackrabbits while
measuring the hunting abilities of sporting breeds—similar to field
trials and hunt tests. Like other types of hunting, all coursers
must purchase a hunting license and remove the edible portions of
any game taken for human consumption purposes.

However, because of very poor drafting or perhaps other motives by
the bill's author, Assembly Member Loni Hancock (D-Berkeley), AB
2110 would also impact many other hunting activities that utilize
dogs. For instance, people who run beagles on rabbits would be
criminals under AB 2110. Also, if you are pheasant or quail
hunting, and your retriever incidentally chases and injures or kills
a jackrabbit, you would fall under the bill's harsh penalties, which
include 6 months in jail and/or a $1000 fine. This poorly written
measure even threatens to make a criminal out of anyone whose
unleashed dog injures or kills a rabbit, hare or fox.

Because AB 2110 would ban a specific hunting practice and impact
other legal hunting activities, it represents a significant
disincentive for the public to participate in hunting. Less hunting
license sales mean less revenue for the cash-strapped Dept. of Fish
and Game, which means less funding for public hunting programs and
wildlife conservation efforts. Ultimately, all hunters will be
called upon to pick up the financial slack.

Don't let the anti's pick off certain segments of the hunting
community! Please contact members of the Assembly Public Safety
Committee (see attached) and tell them that you strongly oppose AB
2110 and believe that the Fish and Game Commission, rather than the
Legislature, should appropriately regulate the taking of game
species. Also, feel free to contact Assembly Member Hancock (916)
319-2014, a non-hunter from Berkeley who claims to know what hunting
is and is not, and let her know what you think of her effort. For
your convenience, a sample letter has also been attached.

THANK YOU FOR HELPING CWA PROTECT YOUR HUNTING AND SHOOTING HERITAGE

[crewchf]

And I might ADD,, who's gonna enforce this State Wide LEASH LAW???? Come on down to Ole Paulding County Georgia and see all the dogs we have running around unleashed, the local Cops'll tell ya fast it ain't their job!!!! We've got a leash law too!!! Better yet if you live in Georgia, call animal control about a stray dog and see how long (DAYS) it takes them to get to your place.... I had one tell me one time that he couldn't tell me to shoot the problem dog,,,, but I had the right to protect my property!!!!! We've got enough laws on the books now to choke a horse so lets just add some more and get these states safe, YA RIGHT!!!!!

Crew Chief

[hounddog]

I just wish these dumb ss people would get a real job that they could occupy their time with and leave us alone. Someone has way too much time on their hands. Go research how many fire ant hills there are in the south or how many snow flakes fall every year up north, or maybe how they can make this world a better place to live. No, that would be constructive. Sorry, had a brain fart.


hounddog
Jim Umbarger

[NorWester]

Im no where near Cali and in fact north of the border but I still cant stand to hear of this nonsense. Pulled this off the Shadetree Big Game forum ........................The bill will be heard in the Assembly Public Safety Committee on MARCH 28th, thats in about a week! WE NEED TO BE THERE! Liz O'Dell