Sportsmen’s Alliance On California Taxidermy Bill Proposal

Here’s more on the bill that the California state senate will soon vote on from the Sportsmen’s Alliance:

“SB 1175 is an attack on sportsmen under the guise of addressing public health issues like wet markets,” said Jacob Hupp associate director of state services at the Sportsmen’s Alliance. “The two issues aren’t even closely related. Conflating wet markets with Americans hunting in Africa and importing properly cured hides or horns under strict regulation and oversight from U.S. Customs is disingenuous at best, and outright manipulation and scare tactics at worst.”

Senate Bill 1175 would ban the possession or importation of animal products from a number of African big game species, including: elephants, lions, leopards, rhinoceros, giraffe, zebra, hippos, pangolins, baboons and hyenas. African big-game hunting funds efforts that protect plentiful, threatened and endangered species from poaching and gives local communities incentive to tolerate conflict with these animals. These hunts occur within the scope of the law of African countries that meet internationally accepted conservation initiatives and guidelines, and adhere to United States import regulations. The dollars that come from African hunts provide a lifeline for many endangered and threatened species, as they fund the anti-poaching and conservation efforts throughout Africa that would not be possible otherwise.