In a momentous decision, the California Fish & Game Commission has voted to ban the trapping of bobcats.
Assembly Bill 1213, prohibiting the trapping and killing of bobcats statewide, passed the California legislature in 2013, but for the past two years it has not been fully implemented.
A Care2 petition demanding that California legislators and the Fish and Game Commission be more diligent in protecting the bobcat by fully enforcing the Bobcat Protection Act has garnered over 77,000 signatures. In a huge victory for Care2 members, the members of the Commission voted to implement a total ban on bobcat trapping.
Congratulations to all those Care2 activists who signed the petition!
The Humane Society issued the following press release within minutes of the decision:
“The Humane Society of the United States applauds the California Fish and Game Commission to extend further protections for iconic bobcats. Shy and elusive creatures, bobcats are solely killed for their fur, which is sold to overseas markets in Russia and China. In the wake of the tragic death of Cecil the lion, the public has never been more aware that killing an animal for its pelt is no worse than for a head and hide to decorate a trophy room. This decision is a much-needed step in the right direction, and we thank Assemblymember Bloom for his ongoing leadership to protect California’s bobcats from this cruel and unnecessary practice.”
The five-member commission had to choose between two options: a statewide ban on bobcat trapping, or a zone-based approach, in which bobcat trapping would have been prohibited only in certain regions of the state. But that latter approach was rejected.
Bobcat image via Shutterstock.
Read more at ENN Affiliate Care2.