PETITION TARGET: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi
UPDATE (9/20/2021): The Driftnet Modernization and Bycatch Reduction Act unanimously passed the Senate and now heads to the House of Representatives. The act would phase out the harmful large mesh driftnets used in federal waters off California’s coast — the only place they are still used in the United States.
We applaud the Senate for this compassionate and common-sense action. We’ll continue to follow developments on this life-saving legislation. —Lady Freethinker Staff
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Dolphins, whales and endangered sea turtles slowly suffocate, succumb to painful injuries, or die terrible deaths as “bycatch” after they become entangled in deadly gillnets used by the fishing industry.
These cruel nets sink hundreds of feet into the ocean and indiscriminately capture anything in their path, including threatened species. Endangered and protected animals are illegal to catch and kill, but when captured in gillnets, they’re considered “bycatch” and the laws don’t apply.
That includes when the nets kill beloved, playful species, like dolphins.
Sadly, this deadly and unsustainable practice remains legal in federal U.S. waters after former President Donald Trump vetoed the Driftnet Modernization and Bycatch Reduction Act, which would have outlawed gillnets.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) reintroduced this crucial bill in February, and Congress must do everything possible to protect innocent marine animals from suffocating to death from gillnets.
Sign this petition urging Congress to pass this urgently-needed legislation to help keep threatened marine animals from going extinct.
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