PETITION CLOSED
PETITION TARGET: New York Standing Committee on Environmental Conservation
UPDATE (1/9/2024): Governor Kathy Hochul signed this important legislation, making it unlawful to “organize, sponsor, conduct, promote or participate in any contest, competition, tournament or derby with the objective of taking or hunting wildlife for prizes, inducement or entertainment.” We applaud Governor Hochul for passing this bill and thank all who signed our petition to support this legislation to protect animals. –Lady Freethinker Staff
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Lured by fake distress calls or bait, then gunned down indiscriminately with high-powered rifles by participants seeking to kill for cash or other prizes, hundreds of defenseless wild animals in New York each year are dying painful deaths without dignity — with their corpses often tossed like trash.
Each year, New York is home to at least 29 wildlife killing contests, which award “prizes” to participants who kill the most animals, the heaviest animals, or the largest animals.
Victims include coyotes, foxes, crows, bobcats, squirrels, rabbits and woodchucks, according to legislation that seeks to ban this brutal travesty by prohibiting any event whose objective is killing wildlife — whether for prizes or “entertainment.”
The bills, A0219 and S04099, note there is no evidence that these killing contests are effective in “managing” wildlife populations — and, rather, run counter to science-based wildlife management principles.
Meanwhile, wildlife killing contests are undeniably cruel — allowing participants to use unethical devices such as distress calls, lures, or bait, and leaving orphaned babies likely to die from exposure, predation, or starvation, according to the legislation.
“Wildlife killing contests are a wanton waste of New York’s wildlife resources, which belong to all state residents,” the legislation states. “These organized competitions treat animals as disposable pieces in a game to win cash and prizes.”
Eight other states have banned these gruesome contests, which glamorize and glorify the killing of sentient beings — and it’s time for New York to do the same.
Sign our petition urging New York legislators to whole-heartedly support and quickly pass this legislation, which will save countless innocent lives while sending a strong message that killing — especially glamorized killing for people’s greed or “entertainment” — will NOT be tolerated.
