California anti-hunting bill stopped by sportsmen (4/8/2003)

Hundreds of sportsmen turned out today at the California Capitol Building and derailed a bill that would ban hunting with hounds. The bill was defeated in an Assembly Committee by a vote of ten to four.

Tony Celebrezze, director of field services for the U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance, testified at the hearing for the bill in Sacramento. He told the Assembly Committee on Water, Parks and Wildlife that Assembly Bill 342 was unnecessary and would cost California taxpayers millions of dollars in lost hunting revenue.

Assemblyman Paul Koretz (D-Los Angeles) introduced the measure.

Over 500 sportsmen turned out in a show of opposition to Koretz's bill.

"In our 25 years of fighting for sportsmen's rights, I cannot recall a larger turnout by sportsmen on a legislative matter," said Rick Story, senior vice president for the U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance. "The strong show of support will send a message to the California Assembly, and the Senate, that California hunters are a political force not to be taken lightly."

Other witnesses in opposition to AB 342 were Dennis Foster, executive director of the Masters of Foxhounds Association of America, Steve Moreno from the National Wild Turkey Federation and representatives from the California Houndsmen for Conservation and other local sportsmen's groups.

"Hunters spend more than $530 million each year in California. This bill would have put those dollars at risk for no reason," said Celebrezze. "The committee showed common sense in stopping this bad bill."

The bill originally banned all hunting with hounds. A storm of sportsmen's contacts to legislators caused Koretz to amend AB 342 to prohibit only the pursuit and taking of black bear and bobcat with hounds. The tactic was merely an effort to placate sportsmen's strong opposition to the bill.

The U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance, through its Field Services Department and its California lobbyist, worked with key national and local sportsmen's groups to defeat the measure. The National Wild Turkey Federation, Masters of Foxhounds Association of America, the California Houndsmen for Conservation, and the California Waterfowl Association are among the organizations that helped raise awareness, motivate hunters to take action, and raise funds to defeat the bill.

This was the second time in as many weeks that anti-hunters were defeated by sportsmen-activists in California. The U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance and its partners also coordinated a successful effort to defeat AB 1190, which sought to ban dove hunting. It was pulled from the committee agenda last week at the request of its sponsor.

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