PETITION TARGET: Sen. Dianne Feinstein and Sen. Shelley Moore Capito
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) vowed to reintroduce this crucial bill once President Joe Biden took office. And that time has come.
Sign this petition urging the bill’s sponsors, Sen. Dianne Feinstein and Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, to immediately reintroduce this urgently-needed legislation to help keep threatened marine animals from going extinct.
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