News from OR
Legislative Deadline Passes & Proponents Ramping Up
SB 494, the anti-trapping bill introduced in the Oregon Legislature on February 7, failed to be placed on a committee agenda by April 8. This is the date by which legislation must be placed on a committee agenda in order to be passed out of committee by the chamber of origin deadline.
The bill has been in the Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee since February 11, and during that time did not receive a public hearing or work session (vote). Missing the committee agenda deadline means it is unlikely that the bill will come up for a vote during this legislative session.
However, the bill could be incorporated under another piece of legislation through a "gut and stuff", where the text of the bill is inserted into the provisions of a bill with a more broadly-defined title.
We will be sure to keep you updated on any movement from SB 494 or the anti-trapping ballot initiative, Initiative Petition #5.
TFO Still on Attack; HSUS Increases Involvement
We thought that we'd share two recent posts from the Facebook page of Trap Free Oregon (TFO), the group leading the charge on the anti-trapping initiative petition. Their page counts over 1,700 likes, and from reading through some of their posts, it's not difficult to see what their aims are. The first post is a direct attack on forest managers utilizing trappers to control problem bears.
Also of note from their Facebook page is that the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), one of the largest and most well-funded animal rights organizations in the country, is going to be stepping up their efforts in pushing the anti-trapping ballot initiative. HSUS was the primary group behind SB 494, but with their efforts failing in the legislature, they are focusing their full attention and considerable resources on Initiative Petition #5. TFO is welcoming their increased involvement, as it seems to be what they were hoping for all along.
TrapFree Oregon April 3
Bear Trapping.......the real story.
As the weather warms in spring, bears become more active and get hungry.
One plentiful, tasty food source is the inner bark of pine trees. A single bear can damage hundreds of trees- often on privately owned timber lands- in a single season.
To counter this damage, spring-loaded snares are set. They are normally baited and camouflaged. Since a bear is considered a "predator" and many of these traps are set on private land, Oregon law mandates that they be checked at least every 30 days. In that time, the bear will certainly die of thirst.
Baby bears have been seen with their dead mothers trying to revive them- while slowly starving.
Many of these private timber lands are legally accessible to the public so you and I and our pets are in danger from these traps as well.
TrapFree Oregon March 29
BIG UPDATE......and good news!
TFO has been supporting a bill (SB-494) which would have accomplished about 95% of what the TFO ballot initiative will. This bill was also heavily supported by the Humane Society (HSUS) and the ASPCA.
It has become clear that the Senate will NOT be able to move the bill "out of committee" and onto the "floor" for a debate and vote this session. With over 8000 bills to consider, many to do with jobs and the economy, this one just didn't make the cut.
THE GOOD NEWS.....
HSUS has tried all the other legal tools in its arsenal and are now firmly committed to working with TFO to get an initiative on the ballot. This is secretly what we've been hoping for all along because our PR potential has grown exponentially.
Legal challenges to the TFO initiative are still pending before the OR Supreme Court and we have no way to know exactly when we will be able to start collecting signatures, so we're still in the "hurry up and wait" stage.
When things start moving forward again, we will keep you up to date and we will be asking for your support and help.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Please be looking for future information from Pac/West and the growing coalition that is working to protect your right to hunt, fish and trap, and be sure to add us to your safe senders list to keep us out of your spam folder.
Chris West
Vice President of Operations
503-685-9400
west@pacwestcom.com
