Animal rights activists are making it abundantly clear that they see humans and animals as equals. It started with the coyote contest bill in Nevada and is continuing with a new bill in Connecticut.
Connecticut Senate Bill 20 would prohibit the import of the “big six African species”.
SB20 says, “No person shall import, possess, sell, offer for sale or transport in this state any big six African species…including any part, product or offspring thereof, or the dead body or parts thereof“. They define the big six as the African elephant, African lion, African leopard, black rhinoceros, white rhinoceros, and Africa giraffe.
It goes on to say, “Any person who violates the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a felony and fined not more than ten thousand dollars and imprisoned not more than two years, or both.” The penalty is the same for someone who commits manslaughter or arson.
The bill can be read in its entirety here.
HUNTING AND AFRICAN CONSERVATION
Animal rights groups might see this bill as a win for their beloved African animals. But it will certainly be detrimental to African conservation efforts. By outlawing the possession and import of such trophies, they are essentially banning Connecticut residents from hunting those species.
While it’s easy to point the finger at hunters for declining population rates of the big six, the reality is the heavily regulated African hunting industry is not to blame. Not only is hunting a huge source of revenue for locals, but it pays for land conservation. Without hunting, there are no funds for that conservation, the human-animal conflict will increase, and poaching will become more prolific.
So, not only does this bill equate legal hunting and taxidermy with killing someone, but they are creating a worse environment for the animals they want to protect.
What do you think about the recent increase in anti-hunting bills with such steep penalties?
