An anti-hunting bill in California continues to make its way through the legislative process, as the Assembly Appropriations Committee passed Senate Bill 1175 yesterday. This legislation would ban the importation and possession of commonly hunted species from Africa, despite such a law being completely unenforceable and coming with a tremendous financial cost to the Golden State.
This misguided legislation branded as a solution to concerns about potentially diminishing numbers of iconic African species by banning the import of hunting trophies of 12 different species from the countries where these species populations are the strongest.
This attempt by elected officials from California to infer they know how best to manage wildlife resources on the ground in Africa is a direct slap in the face to numerous government officials, safari operators, academic researchers, anti-poaching rangers, rural communities and the international hunting community who are all working tirelessly to promote the sustainable conservation of these species.
Earlier this summer, leveraged the power of the Safari Club International Foundation’s African Wildlife Consultative Forum (AWCF) to submit formal comments from organizations and government agencies in 10 different African countries, warning the California legislature how devastating the passage of this legislation would be for their livelihoods and for conservation efforts across the continent.
SCI has been leading a grassroots effort to push back on this issue for months – join the fight by texting SCI California to 73075. Please continue to monitor our website and social media for further updates on this issue as they develop.
