Texas Animal Cruelty Bills Will Wreck Hunting

[LifeNRA]

Texas Animal Cruelty Bills Will Wreck Hunting Bill passes Texas House with overwhelming support
April 27, 2007 (Texas)

Texas sportsmen should take immediate action to oppose legislation that will derail hunting and wildlife management.

On April 19, the Texas House of Representatives passed HB 2328 to rewrite animal cruelty statutes, combining previously exempted wildlife with domestic animals. The bill had overwhelming support, passing by a vote of 142 to 0, with a single abstention. Blurring the distinction between wildlife and domestic animals will leave sportsmen open to prosecution by animal cruelty statutes.

The legislation, introduced by Rep. Beverly Woolley, R-Houston, awaits action in the Senate Criminal Justice Committee.

Rep. Woolley made efforts to resolve issues in HB 2328, but the bill remains unacceptable. It attempts to exempt hunting, fishing and trapping, population and depredation control and normal agricultural practices, but it constitutes a major change to the existing statute. It leaves unanswered questions relating to wildlife management and feral animals, and provides a new landscape for animal activists to criminalize currently accepted activities.

Current statutes provide reasonable avenues for prosecution of animal cruelty and the changes to the law are unnecessary.

Senators are also considering Sen. John Whitmire’s companion bill, SB 1100. The bill is in the Senate Criminal Justice Committee.

The USSA is working with the Texas Wildlife Association (TWA) and others to defeat the bills.

Take Action! Texas sportsmen should contact their state senators to oppose the HB 2328 and SB 1100. Use the Legislative Action Center at www.ussportsmen.org to make contact.

[HoppeMan]

Ouch Doesn't sound so good.

Take care,
Nathan

[wtnhunt]

Interesting that the state passed the bill in the house with no opposition.

It attempts to exempt hunting, fishing and trapping, population and depredation control and normal agricultural practices, but it constitutes a major change to the existing statute. It leaves unanswered questions relating to wildlife management and feral animals, and provides a new landscape for animal activists to criminalize currently accepted activities.

Guessing there is some sort of lack of understanding maybe on the parts of some of those lawmakers, or maybe the wording of the actual bill is not fully understood if this is as you are saying. From what I am reading there, looks like normal hunting practices would be unaffected.

[Texan_Til_I_Die]

Analysis of the bill:
http://www.hro.house.state.tx.us/PDF/ba80R/HB2328.PDF

[stevebeilgard]

i read the bill, and don't see any problem. you cannot kill an animal without the owners permission. the state owns the game animals (and some private farms) by issuing a hunting license, say for a deer, you are given permission to kill one deer.

[CajunHunter_7]

that would mean no Dog hunting. GHmm bad and good