Banning Killing Contests (New Jersey)
A.1142/S.2754
Proposed legislation would prohibit harassing or killing certain wildlife at competitive events.
Status
Killing contests are cruel and inhumane. Participants are awarded money and prizes for various categories for kills, usually for the largest, smallest, or greatest number of animals killed. Though these contests are often promoted as a means to reduce native wildlife populations, numerous studies prove that killing contests are an ineffective and misguided approach to controlling species’ populations.
New Jersey: Urge Your Legislators to Ban Cruel Killing Contests
Help make New Jersey the next state to ban wildlife killing contests.
A.1142/S.2754 would prohibit harassing or killing certain wildlife at competitive events. It was introduced by Assembly members Carol Murphy (D-7) and Reginald Atkins (D-20), and Senators Nilsa Cruz-Perez (D-5) and Raj Mukherji (D-32).
The New Jersey bill is part of a growing national movement to prohibit wildlife killing contests. If passed, this legislation would make New Jersey the eleventh state to prohibit the unnecessary cruelty and wanton violence, following in the footsteps of Arizona, California, Colorado, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Vermont and Washington, who have all outlawed killing contests.
Such contests have come under increasing scrutiny as especially egregious instances of wanton violence against animals occurs. Not only is this deeply cruel — it serves no wildlife management purpose. Furthermore, wildlife killing contests violate the public trust doctrine, which holds that a state’s wildlife is held in the public trust and managed for the benefit of all its citizens.
Sign Up!
Join the Animal Legal Defense Fund's email list to stay up to date on lawsuits, legislation, and regulations affecting animals.