Thanks to your support, AB 273—the bill to ban fur trapping of furbearing and nongame mammals in California—is now eligible for a floor vote in the Assembly after passing two committees! Your voice is needed to help pass this important legislation, which would end cruel and senseless fur trapping of animals such as coyotes and foxes, thereby setting a standard for the humane treatment of wildlife throughout the nation. You helped us get a ban imposed on commercial and recreational bobcat trapping in California in 2015—now let’s extend that ban to the other animals who suffer as a result of the fur trade.
Please act today—urge your Assembly Member to vote YES on AB 273.
Please go here to find contact information for the Assembly Member who represents your district.
Please send a polite message to your Assembly Member asking him or her to vote YES on AB 273 to ban cruel and senseless fur trapping of furbearing and nongame mammals in California.
Next, follow up with a brief phone call.
Talking Points for AB 273:
- Hundreds of coyotes, foxes, beaver and other animals are trapped in California so their pelts can be sold overseas.
- A tiny minority of the population traps animals for fur. Only 133 trapping licenses were sold to fur trappers in California in 2017, generating less than $15,000 for the Department of Fish and Wildlife. (And only 68 of those licensees trapped wildlife—killing 1,568 animals, including grey foxes, coyotes, beavers, badgers, muskrats and mink and selling 1,241 pelts for an estimated gross take of $4,531.) Only a small portion of the costs of managing and enforcing fur trapping is covered by the money brought in by selling trapping licenses, meaning taxpayer dollars subsidize the fur industry.
- Coyotes, foxes, beaver and other wild animals are critical to healthy ecosystems—concentrated removal of these animals is counterproductive to sound wildlife management and is wasteful, unnecessary and cruel.
- California’s wildlife is worth more alive than dead. While the sale of fur pelts generated less than $5,000 in 2017, wildlife watching produced nearly $4 billion in revenue for California’s economy.
Thank you for speaking up for California’s wildlife!
Camilla H. Fox
Founder & Executive Director