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CALL TO ACTION:
AB 1673 AMENDED TO ALLOW TEAR GAS ON WOLVES!
Late last week, AB 1673, authored by Assemblymember Heather Hadwick (R-Alturas), was amended to allow tear gas to be used to harass wolves.
AB 1673 moved through the first house (Assembly) as a benign piece of legislation that added wildlife coexistence programs to the list of programs which can receive funding from a county's wildlife propagation fund. However, at the beginning of the Senate process, Assemblymember Hadwick amended the bill by adding a "tear-gas bomb" to the bill.
A wide range of nonlethal tools already exists to deter wolves from livestock operations. These include range riders, fladry fencing, turbo fladry, livestock guardian animals, improved carcass management, night penning, human presence, alarm systems, strategic grazing practices, and other husbandry techniques. Wildlife experts, conservation organizations, and ranchers throughout the West have successfully employed these methods to reduce conflicts while avoiding harm to wildlife. California's own wolf coexistence programs emphasize these approaches as the preferred path forward.
Once we heard about this amendment, we did an extensive search to find jurisdictions that use tear gas as a wolf deterrent. We could not find one!
Tear gas is fundamentally different. It is designed to inflict acute sensory distress through irritation of the eyes, nose, lungs, and skin. While often discussed as a "nonlethal" tool, it is nonetheless an aversive chemical agent that can cause panic, disorientation, and unnecessary suffering. Its effects on wolf packs, pups, non-target wildlife, domestic animals, and surrounding ecosystems have not been studied. Moreover, there is no evidence or documentation that repeated exposure provides a long-term solution to wolf-livestock conflicts compared with established preventive measures.
PLEASE CALL THE VICE CHAIR & ALL OF THE COMMITTEE MEMBERS AND TELL THEM:
"I'M CALLING TO URGE THE SENATOR TO VOTE NO ON AB 1673 BECAUSE CALIFORNIA SHOULD NEVER ALLOW TEAR GASSING OF OUR WILDLIFE!"
Senate Natural Resources and Water Members:
Vice Chair Sen. Kelly Seyarto: 916-651-4032
Sen. Ben Allen: 916-651-4024
Sen. Christopher Cabaldon: 916-651-4003
Sen. Shannon Grove: 916-651-4012
Sen. John Laird: 916-651-4017
Sen. Henry Stern: 916-651-4027
Note: Our previous email listed the Chair, but we have learned that he is not supportive of this bill, so we are now focusing on the remaining members of the Committee.
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