HOUSE COMMITTEE APPROVES
CECIL ACT, RESTRICTING
HUNTING ABROAD
The U.S. House of
Representatives Natural
Resources Committee
passed HR 2245, known as
the CECIL Act, on a party-
line vote of 19-16. The bill,
sponsored by committee
chairman Congressman
Raul M. Grijalva (D-AZ),
will place significant
restrictions on hunting and
importing the taxidermy.
HR 2245 will end the
distinction between
threatened and endangered
species, as well as create
more barriers to obtain
import permits for game
that has been legally
hunted. The bill removes
input from range countries
in determining whether
a species can be hunted
by Americans. The CECIL
Act goes even further
and prohibits hunting for
species before they are
even listed as threatened or
endangered.
Passage of the bill
will also have negative
consequences on African
nations who rely on the
revenue from sportsmen
to continue much needed
anti-poaching programs
that have allowed many
species to rebound and
other conservation efforts
that have proven extremely
effective worldwide.
“The survival of iconic
species is in real danger
due to this legislation,
which will result in a
massive decrease in
Americans hunting abroad,”
said Bruce Tague vice
president of government
affairs for Sportsmen’s
Alliance. “It is vital that
sportsmen let their
congressmen and women
know that HR 2245 unfairly
targets law-abiding hunters,
ignores input from range
countries and will actually
harm wildlife.”
MASSACHUSETTS REPRESENTATIVE
TARGETS DUCK HUNTING
U
nder the guise of
“public safety and
quality of life,” Rep.
RoseLee Vincent
(D-Suffolk) has introduced
House Bill 4138, which
creates a gigantic buffer
zone that would shut down
a key waterfowl hunting
area in Massachusetts. The
buffer zone would cover
the tidelands, extending
1,500 yards offshore from
Revere beach and the Point
of Pines beach in the city
of Revere. House Bill 4138
has been assigned to the
Joint Committee on The
Judiciary where it will be
scheduled for a hearing.
Hunting has existed
in this area even before
Massachusetts was a state,
and there is no evidence
of any legitimate safety
concern. HB 4138 is simply
a way to stop hunting
in an area where some
landowners oppose public
access for sportsmen.
Because waterfowlers often
use the shoreline to obtain
good cover, the buffer
zone, which would extend
nearly a mile into the sea, is
essentially a ban on hunting
without justification.
“A buffer zone the
length of 15 football fields
is excessive, especially
when you consider how
long people have been
hunting in this area,” said
Luke Houghton, associate
director of state services
for the Sportsmen’s
Alliance. “It’s quite
ironic that Rep. Vincent
lives along one of the
beaches impacted by her
legislation. This bill is not
about safety. It’s about
folks who oppose hunting
occurring near them.”
It is quite ironic that Repre-
sentative Vincent lives along
one of the beaches impacted
by her own legislation.
SPORTSMEN’S MONTHLY
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