| Bernard -- Update on F&W – House Our last update concerned the 2022 version 1.1 of H.411, a Wanton Waste bill, a bill that WAS schedule to be voted out of committee without allowing any other testimony beyond that of the F&W Commissioner, who was clear he could not support it. Remembering that bills go thru changes and have versions, you can read the latest version 2022 (version 2.1) here. Across the 4 versions of last year, we could have supported 2021's v2.1 or v3.1, but then came v4.1 and we could no longer support it. What's the concern? We have several, I'll list the two main ones. The motivation of a Wanton Waste bill is the desire to disallow the wanton killing of animals when there is no intention of using any part of the animal; you have to "use" some of that animal. We support this 100% for game species. A problem arises with animals like coyote and crow, both of which are considered non-game, with coyote also being a non-native animal. As a predator, coyote will prey on virtually all animals up to and including deer. If it is a land owner's preference to remove that predator so as to foster game on their property: Why should they be forced to eat some part of it, or find some theoretical "use" for what is an invasive species, with an open hunting season, after they dispatch it? It's similar with crow...there is a reason we have the expression "Eating Crow" as being something unpleasant. As a result of the response from sportspeople to that last Alert, as well as the actions of the Federation and it's allies, the committee did NOT vote it out; they in fact responded with version 2.1 which exempted coyote: A very solid step in the right direction. Both the current and previous F&W Commissioners do not support coyote or crow being part of Wanton Waste, neither do we, and as is exemplified by the trajectory of this bill: Things can change very quickly. We will be giving testimony sometime across the morning of Wednesday 2/2. Thank you to all who responded to our plea, and we apologize for not having the time to provide more info at the time, but time was of the essence. Update on F&W - Senate This past Friday, the Senate Natural Resources agenda came out for this week. As you can see, 3 bills of interest to us are starting to move: S.129 (restructure of F&W Board), S.201 (anti-trapping) and S.281 (hunting coyote with hounds). The Federation contacted the Chair to politely request testimony as we do NOT support any of them. In response, the Chair responded that we would be allowed, and he also informed us of his intent to schedule a "public hearing" on all three bills, all to be done thru zoom, FOR THIS WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON AT 5:30PM. The absurdity of trying to pull off a "public hearing" during Covid; on three issues that directly affect the Constitutional right of Vermonters to hunt, fish & fowl; with less than 3 days notice; when we know there are rural Vermonters that have high-speed internet issues; speaks volumes. We responded, cc'ing the Pro Tem, that trying to pull off a "public hearing" was not appropriate. As a result: We are pleased to report that as of yesterday morning – the "public hearing" disappeared form the schedule. At present, the three bills are starting to move with testimony being taken; the Federation is not yet scheduled, but we will be. We cannot support S.129 because the current functioning of the F&W Board not only works, it works well, with the proof being that game species are abundant and flourishing. We cannot support S.201 for obvious reasons; S.201, while currently only written for hunting coyote with dogs, opens the door for hunting any species with dogs. A second email will follow shortly on what's going on with firearm-related bills. Thank You Donate to defend your rights: Vermont Federation of Sportsmen's Clubs
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