New York Assembly Member Deborah J. Glick (D-Greenwich Village) has introduced Assembly Bill 722, which would ban hunting contests and field trials for hunting dogs. AB 722 is currently in the Assembly Environmental Conservation Committee where it awaits a hearing.
Current New York law allows for hunting competitions, such as coyote hunting contests, to take place in the state. Legislation like AB 722, which is pushed and supported by the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), seeks to end all hunting contests nationwide. Any person or organization caught participating, organizing or promoting a contest, competition, tournament or derby that has the objective of taking wildlife for prizes or entertainment will face a year of jail time and/or a fine of $500 to $2,000.
Additionally, AB 722 is so broadly written it will also ban field trials in New York. Hunters depend on quality dogs, and a ban on field trials eliminates the system through which superior genetics, bloodlines and abilities are cultivated and objectively tested. While anti-hunting groups focus their rhetoric on coyote contests, they are also quietly working to ban hunting with dogs.
“From coast to coast, animal-rights groups and legislators are taking marching orders from HSUS. They are attacking management tools like coyote contests, as well as silently trying to kill field trials,” said Luke Houghton associate director of state services.
About the Sportsmen’s Alliance: The Sportsmen’s Alliance protects and defends America’s wildlife conservation programs and the pursuits – hunting, fishing and trapping – that generate the money to pay for them. Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation is responsible for public education, legal defense and research. Its mission is accomplished through several distinct programs coordinated to provide the most complete defense capability possible. Stay connected to Sportsmen’s Alliance: Online, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.