New Hampshire Bill Hijacking Wildlife Management Policy Stopped
Bill Would Have Politicized Appointments to Fish and Game Commission.
New Hampshire – -(AmmoLand.com)- A bill in New Hampshire that would have opened the door for animal rights activists to hijack state wildlife management policy was stopped in its tracks last week.
HB 559, sponsored by State Representative Carla Skinder (D- Cornish) would have gutted the current methodology for appointments to the state Fish and Game Commission. The bill eliminated the guarantee that qualified persons are appointed to the governing body directly responsible for hunting, fishing, and trapping regulations.
Under the bill, existing requirements stipulating that members of the Commission be an active outdoorsman holding a resident fishing, hunting, or trapping license in at least 5 of the 10 years would have been removed.
The bill also eliminated the requirement that a member have at least 5 years of experience in conservation or scientific wildlife management.
Those changes would have left membership on the Commission up to political considerations and risked the Commission becoming stacked with animal rights activists.
Despite the bill being voted down in committee by a 16-0 vote, animal rightists pushed for a vote before the full House of Representatives. Fortunately, thanks to grassroots opposition, the bill was effectively killed.