Tell Your Senator to Oppose The Sportsmen's Act 2013 - S. 1335
Action Alert from All-Creatures.org

FROM

In Defense of Animals (IDA)
August 2013

ACTION

Tell your Senator to vote “NO” on the Sportsmen's Act 2013 (S. 1335). The threats our wildlife face come from many directions- loss of habitat, trophy hunters, poaching, conflicts with humans and or human-based activities, as well as the hardships of living in the wild as predator or prey. The last thing we need right now is to open our national parks or wilderness areas that currently do not allow hunting to more killing.

Make direct contact:

Find and contact your U.S. Senators
http://www.senate.gov/

INFORMATION / TALKING POINTS

Oppose the Sportsmen's Act 2013 (S. 1335), a bill sponsored by Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and designed to make hunting and trapping a priority on federal lands. This presents a violation of the Public Trust Doctrine, which states that access to natural resources should not be dominated by one interest group over others.

S. 1335 would, among other provisions to further hunters' and trappers' interests, allow hunting and trapping in designated wilderness areas; allow "volunteers" to help in the killing of so-called "excess" animals on federal land, including National Parks, increase the share of federal lands turned into shooting ranges, and legalize the transporting of bows through national parks and the importation of "trophies" from polar bears kills in Canada.

The majority of the Public has no interest in hunting and trapping, activities which inflict great pain and suffering onto wild animals, and they prefer wildlife watching over killing other beings. In 2011, a mere 13.7 million people hunted compared to a whopping 78.1 million people who enjoyed watching and photographing live wild animals.

Wild animals already face an alarming array of threats that come from many directions -- loss of habitat, the impact of climate change, trophy hunters, poaching, trapping, conflicts with humans and or human-based activities, as well as the hardships of living in the wild as predator or prey. The last thing we need right now is to open our national parks or wilderness areas that currently do not allow hunting to more killing.

Each new version of the "Sportsman Heritage Act" attempts to eviscerate or eliminate environmental protections or expand consumptive or disruptive uses of public lands. This newest version again seeks to impose permanent restrictions on the ability of regulatory agencies to control lead ammunition, a problem that is causing great damage to ecosystems and the wildlife that rely on healthy habitats.

I believe that this bill poses a significant threat to our wildlife and wilderness, and I urge you to vote against it.

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Thank you for everything you do for animals!

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