Oppose: SJR 3 Puts Ohio Wildlife in Danger (Ohio)
Ohio Senate Joint Resolution 3 would allow for hunting and fishing using inhumane “traditional” hunting and trapping methods and mandate hunting and fishing as a “preferred means of managing and controlling wildlife.”
Status
Some Ohio lawmakers are seeking to incorporate a “right to hunt, fish, and harvest wildlife,” including the use of so-called “traditional” methods, in the state Constitution. If passed by the Ohio General Assembly, this proposed constitutional amendment — Senate Joint Resolution 3 (SJR 3) — would be placed on the November 2022 ballot.
The euphemism “traditional methods” is vague and unreasonably broad, but it’s designed to include deeply inhumane practices such as the use of steel-jaw leghold traps, snare traps that can slowly strangle animals to death, and hunting wildlife using packs of dogs.
Beyond the severe cruelty this proposed amendment would enable, it would also undermine the ability of voters, localities, and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources to implement wildlife policies that meet their own goals and values. In other words, it could undermine the initiative process in Ohio, prevent localities from enacting their own wildlife-protection measures, and stop wildlife authorities from exercising their discretion and prioritizing science-based strategies for wildlife conservation and mitigating human-wildlife encounters.
Additionally, there could be unintended consequences that would saddle Ohioans with significant costs related to potential legal challenges.
The Animal Legal Defense Fund strongly opposes this bill.
Learn more about Ohio’s laws protecting animals at aldf.org/ohio.
