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Of all the institutionalized animal abuse and killing, hunting has bothered and puzzled me the most. While other forms of animal cruelty and killing are done as a means to an end, hunting has no excuse at all. It’s done for the perverse pleasure of killing an animal. While a small number of hunters hunt for food, they are a fraction of a percent of the already low hunting population, which is a mere 3% in NYS.
I agree that if animal rights concerns were to be ranked according to the number of animals affected, the animal food industry would be at the top of the list for its unfathomably high numbers of beings killed every second, the chillingly mechanical way in which they are killed, and their extreme suffering unacknowledged.
In this issue, Jim Robertson makes the connection between how wildlife suffers as a result of our meat-based diets, and the Wildlife Watch Binocular will always promote veganism. Not only would veganism cure the world of many physical ills, but it would bring peace to both humans and animals.
Working legislatively through the League of Humane Voters® (LOHV®) an organization that has broad animal protection concerns, it’s clear that domestic animal bills don’t face the same obstacles as bills that relate to agricultural animal abuse or wild animal abuse. Those are by far the most difficult areas in which to make headway.
This year, LOHV/NY decided to dive into the budget process. In prior years, LOHV/NY simply waited out the budget period, which runs from early January to April 1 (or a few days after) when it must be passed. So, the budget period lasts for three solid months before stand-alone bills are given the attention they deserve. Legislators, via Zoom, convened forums in which constituents could
make requests or present ideas for projects or entities in need of funding. NGOs appealed for funding, business owners urged the state to help keep them afloat. Legislators were in constant negotiations with each other to add or remove funding, and this process continued until the budget was finally approved by both chambers and approved by the Governor. The Governor’s many budget bills take up more than 50 percent of a legislator’s time during any session.
LOHV/NY entered the budget process when they discovered that not only were there stand-alone bills to lower the hunting age, legalize more types of weapons for youngsters, and lengthen killing seasons, but the Governor’s Budget Bill included lowering the hunting age and legalizing more weapons as well!
You can see more in the article on page 7 by Becky Sunshine. How did that get into a budget bill that gives away General Funds (your taxes and mine) for worthy purposes?
LOHV/NY began to speak out against this, first by participating in a forum, then by writing action alerts and contacting legislators via email and social media. Thebarrageofcallstotheiroffices certainly got attention. We can’t say it was causal, but almost immediately the Assembly removed the language from their version of the bill. It forced the issue to go back to the drawing board in the Senate. After weeks of negotiation, some major changes were made.
It went from becoming a state law imposed on the entire state to becoming an “opt-in pilot program” for three years.
An opt-in lower hunting age would happen only by a vote of the county legislature. Amazingly, the unprecedented default was that counties were not participating in this pilot program. If they wanted to lower the hunting age for deer, they wouldhave to opt in! This is something I had never seen before. Surely, it would have been far more advantageous to the forces that wanted a lower hunting age if counties were automatically in unless they opted out! LOHV/NY is grateful for this serious negotiating!
And, thanks to Sen. Liz Krueger (Chair of the Senate Budget Committee), bears were dropped from the lower big game hunting age, though 12 and 13-year-olds can still kill deer (deer and bears are the only “big game” in NY).
Interestingly, the legislators who were most involved in these negotiations were from New York City, Westchester, and Long Island (Nassau and Suffolk). All boroughs of NYC, and those three counties were made ineligible to opt-in!!! That indicates to me that they know which way the wind is blowing.
Attention now had to turn to the counties. There are 54 eligible (to opt in) counties in NY. Letters were sent to every county by LOHV/NY asking that they not opt-in to the lower hunting age. You’ll see the letters below.
Special attention was given to the six counties closest to the ones that were ineligible: Putnam, Rockland, Ulster, Dutchess, Orange, and Sullivan.
As Cuomo is a hunter himself and is close with his Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) in which resides the Bureau of Wildlife (BOW), he obviously wasn’t going to give in on lowering the hunting age, but the compromises made by the Governor’s office are unprecedented and we are deeply grateful to the legislators who fought for them.
It’s truly a HUGE first step. The jury is still out with regard to how the counties will vote. We certainly don’t expect miracles overnight, but it’s the beginning of political pressure over hunting becoming more local, where a smaller number of people can determine who is voted in and who is voted out!
https://www.amherstbee.com/category/opinions/letters-to-the-editor/
DON’T LOWER THE HUNTING AGE IN YOUR COUNTY
May 12, 2021
Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s budget bill included a hotly contested part that lowers the age to kill deer to 12, as well as allowing their use of crossbows. Under the budget bill as finally enacted, a county can lower the age for children to kill deer, but only if the county opts in to a pilot program which runs through 2023 by affirmatively passing a law allowing it.
The state Department of Environmental Conservation began its outreach to counties to persuade counties to opt-in immediately, and no one opposed would have heard about it via the DEC’s vast network of hunting and trapping clubs, along with the NRA’s connection with gun groups.
It’s well-known in the hunting community that the younger the child, the easier it is to turn them into young hunters and users of firearms.
And not everyone is aware of the circular and exclusive relationship between the wildlife management division of our government and the firearms industry. Wildlife management bureaus depend on the excise taxes on firearms and ammunition (and bows and arrows), and the firearms industry depends on wildlife being managed to become living, feeling targets for hunters. This symbiotic relationship benefits only the wildlife management bureaus and the firearms industry, while it wreaks havoc on the lives of wild animals and the residents in areas where there is hunting.
We are urging you to let your neighbors know about this law so the larger public can weigh in with their county legislators.
Anne Muller, The League of Humane Voters of NY
THE FOLLOWING LETTER TEMPLATE WAS PERSONALIZED AND SENT TO 54 COUNTY LEADERS WITH A REQUEST THAT THEY SHARE IT WITH THEIR COUNTY LEGISLATORS:
As you know, the NYS Executive Budget (Bill S2505C/A3005C) has recently passed with a hotly contested law that allows 12 and 13 year-olds to hunt deer, as well as allowing their use of crossbows. The original law has been cut back so that counties (with the exception of the boroughs of NYC, Westchester, Suffolk, and Nassau, which were made ineligible to participate) will have to opt-in to a pilot program for 2 years and 7 months. Please be aware that other deadly weapons, such as modified AK-47 and AR-15 rifles are already legal for 12 year-olds to use on small game, though they are primarily used for large animals such as deer!
It is little known that federal excise taxes on firearms, ammunition, and bows and arrows are distributed to a states’ wildlife management divisions whose purpose is to sell hunting permits, thus increasing the use of firearms, ammunition, and bows and arrows or bolts. The amount of the federal excise tax received depends in part on the number of hunting permits the state sells, which in turn adds to the profit of the firearms industry. It’s a circular economy and not a penny goes to the general fund of the state. As several downstate counties are ineligible to participate in the pilot program, and other counties vote not to opt-in, youngsters and the older hunters accompanying them will pour into counties that choose to opt-in. This skewed population of hunters could have consequences for local wildlife. Additionally, there will be even more lead pumped into the environment, and the increased congestion will likely lead to a greater chance of hunting accidents. While it works for the firearms industry and the wildlife bureau, it is clearly not working for society, the environment, ecology, human safety, or wild animals. We urge XXX County not to opt-in to this disturbing pilot program.
… AND HERE IS A RESPONSE FROM ONE COUNTY EXECUTIVE WHO WILL ENSURE THAT HIS COUNTY OPTS IN TO A LOWER HUNTING AGE:
Ms. Muller,
Thank you for your correspondence regarding the recent changes in NYS youth hunting laws. Your uneducated bias is quite clear from the narrative in your request. As a County Legislature, we have not discussed our options yet, but we will in the near future. I am happy to give you some insight as to my personal position, and perhaps some education as well. I will be advocating for xxx County to “opt in” to the new pilot to continue to educate our youth to be good stewards of our wilderness and our wildlife. Hunting isn’t simply about killing, regardless of your enlightened opinion.
As a small and big game hunter for nearly 4 decades with 2 children, I can assure you there is no bet- ter way to promote the safe use of firearms, the humane dispatching of wild animals, and the love and respect of nature than to teach our children at an early age. Hunters are not thugs running through the woods shooting at everything they see.
Personally, I don’t know one single person who hunts big game with an AR-15 or an AK-47 as you suggest. They simply aren’t practical for that application, and are NOT “primarily used for large animals such as deer!” Your assertion that the Federal Excise Tax simply adds to the profit of the firearms industry and adds nothing to the general fund of the State is misguided and incomplete. If we follow your logic, the circular economy that created the additional firearm purchases and Federal Excise Tax also created sales tax revenue that DOES go directly to not only the State general fund, but local gov- ernments as well. In fact, one would successfully argue that it has allowed NYS to continue to purchase land in both the Adirondack and Catskill Parks for conservation purposes. Complete the circle, don’t stop where your narrative ends.
For generations, NYS hunters have assisted in keeping our wilderness clean and sustainable. We help control wildlife population where needed, as determined by NYSDEC biologists, not Political Action Committees. We faithfully practice the “carry in, carry out” mantra, and pick up trash left behind by those less responsible. The more people who are educated in this manner, the better it is for wildlife. The earlier our youth is conditioned to be safe and responsible, the more likely they are to continue those efforts as adults. Our local rod and gun clubs organize trail clean-ups, perform wildlife census counts, run fishing derbies, gun safety courses, archery classes, youth hunts, and host many other eventsto raise awareness in our communities. Safety is always paramount. We appreciate them for it, and rec- ognize their efforts on a greater scale. As a Legislature, we will continue to support their responsible efforts in any way we can. Without hunters, wildlife populations will grow out of control, overcrowding will be the norm, and wildlife will die a slow, painful death from starvation or vehicle collisions instead. To anyone claiming to be interested in humane wildlife conservation, that’s what should be disturbing.
For clarification, Counties don’t need to vote to NOT opt in. The law doesn’t allow for a County to participate unless they DO opt in.
Regards, xxx
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