Post by HiLLbiLLyTraPPer on Oct 31, 2009 12:04:27 GMT -5
Published: 10/29/2009
From the U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance:
An anti-trapping bill recently introduced in the District of Columbia takes animal protection to new heights of absurdity. Initiated by the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), the “Animal Protection Act of 2009”, puts severe restrictions on the most common form of wildlife control in cities and calls for the preservation of “family units” of animals.
The Act restricts all trapping except by licensed wildlife control companies. The bill outlaws “lethal control” of raccoons, bats, rabbits, squirrels, possums, pigeons and other wild animals except in cases where all non-lethal methods have been exhausted and when the public health is deemed to be at risk. Foot-hold traps, snares and other commonly used traps are specifically prohibited while live traps must be checked at least every 24 hours. Further, in what might be the most outrageous section of the bill, it indicates that wildlife control operators should try to keep “family units” intact and even to attempt to reunite live-trapped animals with their “families.”
“Wildlife control, utilizing the most practical and efficient methods, is essential to protect public health and to prevent property damage,” said Evan Huesinkveld, U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance director of state services. “This bill removes the most effective way to control pests in all but the most extreme cases, and also forces citizens to pay for this control. This is just another example of unreasonable and burdensome legislation pushed by animal rights’ groups.”
From the U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance:
An anti-trapping bill recently introduced in the District of Columbia takes animal protection to new heights of absurdity. Initiated by the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), the “Animal Protection Act of 2009”, puts severe restrictions on the most common form of wildlife control in cities and calls for the preservation of “family units” of animals.
The Act restricts all trapping except by licensed wildlife control companies. The bill outlaws “lethal control” of raccoons, bats, rabbits, squirrels, possums, pigeons and other wild animals except in cases where all non-lethal methods have been exhausted and when the public health is deemed to be at risk. Foot-hold traps, snares and other commonly used traps are specifically prohibited while live traps must be checked at least every 24 hours. Further, in what might be the most outrageous section of the bill, it indicates that wildlife control operators should try to keep “family units” intact and even to attempt to reunite live-trapped animals with their “families.”
“Wildlife control, utilizing the most practical and efficient methods, is essential to protect public health and to prevent property damage,” said Evan Huesinkveld, U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance director of state services. “This bill removes the most effective way to control pests in all but the most extreme cases, and also forces citizens to pay for this control. This is just another example of unreasonable and burdensome legislation pushed by animal rights’ groups.”
