Hunting, Trapping, Ranching Interests Bankroll Campaign Against Prop. 4, While Humane Groups and Supporters Work to Restrict Cruel Traps & Poisons.LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 13, 1998--Tuesday, the "Yes on 4" Committee charged that virtually all financial support against Proposition 4 comes from hunting, trapping and ranching groups, whereas thousands of rank-in-file Californians have donated to the "Yes on 4" Campaign as revealed in campaign finance reports filed last week with the Secretary of State. Proposition 4 seeks to ban the use of body-gripping traps, including the steel-jawed leghold trap that has been banned by 88 nations, for commerce in fur or recreation. It also bans the use of Compound 1080 and sodium cyanide sodium cyanide n. A poisonous white crystalline compound, NaCN, used in extracting gold and silver from ores and in dye manufacture. Noun 1. , two deadly poisons dangerous to wildlife, pets and the environment. It allows the use of snares and Conibears for damage control, but forbids the sale of the pelts of animals killed. It also permits the use of leghold traps if needed to protect public health and safety or endangered species endangered species, any plant or animal species whose ability to survive and reproduce has been jeopardized by human activities. In 1999 the U.S. government, in accordance with the U.S. . More than 100 organizations, including the Sierra Club Sierra Club, national organization in the United States dedicated to the preservation and expansion of the world's parks, wildlife, and wilderness areas. Founded (1892) in California by a group led by the Scottish-American conservationist John Muir, the Sierra Club , have endorsed Proposition 4. The "No on 4" Committee took in $232,712 during the third quarter of this year and $312,120 since its campaign committee registered. It reports a balance of $48,351 but debts of $51,278. Its major donors include: $28,000 from the California Outdoor Enthusiast Coalition (a hunting organization); $14,000 from the Wildlife Legislative Fund of America (an Ohio-based hunting and trapping rights organization); $10,000 from the National Trappers Association (based in Illinois); $8,500 from the California Trappers Association; $10,000 from Kern County Wool Growers; $5,000 from Sportsmen Political Victory Fund; $2,500 from the California Bow Hunters and State Archery archery, sport of shooting with bow and arrow, an important military and hunting skill before the introduction of gunpowder. England's Charles II fostered archery as sport, establishing in 1673 the world's oldest continuous archery tournament, the Ancient Scorton Association; $1,500 from Gun Owners of California; $1,500 from the National Field Archery Association The National Field Archery Association is the leading field archery organization in the United States. Founded in 1939, it is a non-profit organization dedicated to the practice of archery. Members receive its bimonthly magazine, Archery. ; and $500 from the Fur Takers of America. "Financial opposition to Proposition 4 comes almost entirely from trophy hunting Trophy hunting is the selective hunting of wild game. While parts of the slain animal may be kept as a hunting trophy or memorial (usually the skin, antlers and/or head), the carcass itself is usually used as food. Trophy hunting has firm supporters and opponents. , commercial trapping and ranching interests," said Aaron Medlock, campaign manager for Protect Pets and Wildlife (ProPAW). "These groups, time and again, have resisted modest protections for wildlife, including restricting the use of the barbaric and indiscriminate steel-jawed leghold traps and the protection of endangered species." The "Yes on 4" Committee took in $286,898 during the third quarter and $899,409 since its founding. It has a balance of $358,008. It has 620 individual donors of $100 or more and an additional $69,000 from thousands of Californians donating less than $100. Its largest organizational donors during the quarter included: $75,000 from The Humane Society of the United States The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) is a Washington, D.C-based animal welfare advocacy group. It is the largest animal welfare organization in the world, with nearly 10 million members and a 2006 budget of US$103 million. , whose California office is based in Sacramento; $20,000 from the Doris Day Doris Mary Ann von Kappelhoff (born April 3, 1924)[1] is an American singer, actress, and animal welfare advocate known as Doris Day. A vivacious blonde with a wholesome image, Day was one of the most prolific actresses of the 1950s and 1960s. Animal League, whose namesake lives in Carmel, Calif.; and $5,000 from the Animal Protection Institute, also based in Sacramento. Donations to the "Yes on 4" Campaign confirm what the volunteer signature-gathering effort first indicated: a strong grassroots movement to ban cruel traps. "Many of the same hunting, trapping and ranching groups rearing their heads in California opposed similar initiatives to restrict cruel traps in Arizona, Colorado and Massachusetts," said Medlock. "Voters in those states saw through their alarmist a·larm·ist n. A person who needlessly alarms or attempts to alarm others, as by inventing or spreading false or exaggerated rumors of impending danger or catastrophe. rhetoric and limited the use of these archaic devices." |
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