Great news out of Sacramento! On Saturday, October 12, Governor Newsom signed AB 44 (banning the sale and production of new fur products) and AB 1254 (bobcat trophy hunting) into law. This momentous legislation will spare countless wild animals from the cruel and unnecessary fur trade and bobcats from the horrors of trophy hunting.
Thanks to your support, California has set yet another standard for the nation on the humane treatment of wildlife—after becoming the first state in the country to ban commercial and recreational trapping in September. With AB 44 on the books, California is now the first state in the nation to ban the sale and production of new fur products!
Animals raised for the fur trade languish in tiny cages on factory farms and are cruelly killed by gassing or electrocution. Wildlife including foxes, coyotes, beaver, and otter are also trapped in their native habitat and their skins sold at auction. These two laws send a message to the fur industry that consumers no longer want animals skinned for fashion clothing and accessories.
The ban on bobcat hunting will spare countless bobcats and other nontarget species from being sport-hunted—following up on California’s precedent-setting ban on bobcat trapping in 2015. It will also help preserve the species, which faces a range of threats including human encroachment on their habitat and consequences from climate change.
Join us in thanking Governor Newsom and the bill sponsors—Asm. Laura Friedman (who introduced the fur ban bill) and Asm. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (who championed the bobcat bill)—for taking a stand against these inhumane practices. Please shoot them a quick email—contact information is at the links provided.
We are deeply grateful to all of you who supported these bills and spoke out for the voiceless animals.
For the Wild Ones,
Camilla H. Fox
Founder & Executive Director