The House Committee on Natural Resources, Fish and Wildlife is scheduled to hear several bills Wednesday morning that are a full-blown assault on sportsmen. While the Capitol is closed to the public, politicians who despise our outdoor heritage have no problem conducting their attacks via Zoom meetings. This latest installment is scheduled for 9 a.m., Wednesday, April 7.
The following bills are on the agenda:
H.167, by Rep. Amy Sheldon, would create an Environmental Stewardship Board to “oversee” the Agency of Natural Resources. This is simply more government bureaucracy intended to inject politics into sound game management. Rather than relying on science, game managers will now be looking over their shoulders and worrying about appeasing this California-style panel.
H.172, by Rep. James McCullough, is a complete ban on trapping in Vermont.
H.316, by Rep. Michael Yantachka, requires that a hunter must maintain visual and verbal control over hunting dogs. This, of course, is virtually impossible to do, and provides plenty of opportunity to harass outdoorsmen and hunters.
H.411, by Rep. Amy Sheldon, deals with wanton waste and retrieval of harvested game animals. Again, this is nothing more than beefing–up a statute to harass hunters.
There is no evidence that existing laws are not working. Ultimately, all of these bills are unnecessary. It is clear that this is nothing more than a punitive jab at hunters and sportsmen.
Your immediate action is required. Please contact members of the committee and respectfully ask that these bills be rejected.
