PROJECT COYOTE director Camilla Fox put in her share of time lobbying for California to ban the practice of hunting Bears and Bobcats with hounds............And sure enough, with her and many like minded supporters behind State SEnator Ted Lieu's bill SB 1221, Governor Jerry Brown signed it into law yesterday..................While California needs to get its financial house in order, the state leads the Nation in forward thinking conservation laws and mores

WE DID IT! Hounds outlawed from use in hunting Bears and Bobcats

 

by: Camilla Fox; Project Coyote

I'm elated to report that this afternoon California Governor Jerry Brown signed SB 1221 into law making California the 15^th state to prohibit the hounding of bears and the 14^th state to ban the hounding of bobcats! (Please see article below).

You helped make this victory a reality; thank you for responding to our many calls for action! Our collective voices DO make a difference.

More coming on this – and other recent successes – soon, but I wanted to share this exciting news with you now!

With heartfelt joy & gratitude for your support,

Camilla

PS- CA residents: Please take a moment to write to the Honorable State Senator Ted Lieu (sponsor of SB 1221) and thank him for his leadership on this issue. He dealt with an onslaught of opposition from very powerful forces and addressed them with aplomb:

 

The Honorable State Senator Ted Lieu

State Capitol, Rm. 4090

Sacramento, CA 95814

Fax: 916-323-6056

Email: Theodate.Cline@sen.ca.gov

 

 

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 Gov. Jerry Brown outlaws using dogs to hunt bears, bobcats in California

Hunters in California will no longer be allowed to use dogs to hunt bears and bobcats under legislation signed Wednesday by Gov. Jerry Brown in response to complaints the practice is cruel and unsporting.

Brown approved the ban, which takes effect Jan. 1, after heavy lobbying by groups including the Humane Society of the United States and a coalition of celebrities including Doris Day, Ellen DeGeneres and Bill Maher.

The bill was introduced by Sen. Ted Lieu (D-Torrance), who noted that hunting bears with hounds has previously been outlawed in 14 states, including Arkansas, Colorado, Montana, Oklahoma, Oregon and Wyoming.

``There is nothing sporting in shooting an exhausted bear clinging to a tree limb or a cornered bobcat,'' Lieu said Wednesday.
Lieu introduced the bill in the aftermath of controversy involving Daniel W. Richards, the former president of the state Fish and Game Commission, who killed a mountain lion in Idaho even though the animals are protected from sports hunting in California. 

Richards refused calls by Lieu and others to resign over the dog-guided hunt, arguing it is legal to kill mountain lions in Idaho.
The legislation drew large crowds of hunters to the Capitol while it was being considered by lawmakers. They accused Lieu of seeking revenge against Richards, and said the bill infringed on their rights as sportsmen to use a safe method of hunting.

``The passage of this bill certainly reinforces why Californians hold their elected leadership in such low regard as the governor and legislature dedicate so much of their time on such unnecessary measures as SB1221 while our state continues to suffer from record levels of crime, unemployment, and foreclosure,'' said Josh Brones, president of California Houndsmen for Conservation."