We can’t thank you all enough for your calls and letters – they make a huge difference!
One last unfortunate update…
SB 376 (Stern) Wildlife Trafficking & Trade Act was held in the Senate Appropriations Committee today, meaning it “died.”
“We strongly disagreed with the inflated fiscal analysis given by the Committee at the direction of the Department of Fish & Wildlife,” said Judie Mancuso, Founder and President of Social Compassion in Legislation. “SB 376 simply strengthened existing duties of the Department and Commission to prevent the importation of animals that can spread a novel zoonotic disease, such as Covid-19, while also tightening provisions on live animal markets to prevent diseased species or invasive species.”
Unfortunately, the Department viewed the provisions of the bill as requiring NEW duties, rather than simply adjusting current duties.
Our author, Senator Henry Stern, had the following to say about today’s outcome, “While we are disappointed SB 376 was held, we are encouraged that the cycle of chronic underfunding of wildlife trafficking enforcement may change this year. Our bill remains a prudent approach towards preventing zoonotic disease from driving future pandemics. That said, the revitalization of the Department of Fish and Wildlife proposed in the Governor’s revised budget gives us hope that California will step into a leadership role by better enforcing laws that protect our wildlife, biodiversity, and public health.”
We thank Senator Stern for his continued commitment to this issue and look forward to working on it in future years.
