Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN) and 16 co-sponsors, including unsurprising names such as radical leftist Reps. Cori Bush (D-MO), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), Ted Lieu (D-CA), and Katie Porter (D-CA), have introduced legislation that would ban predator hunting contests. If successful, the bill would ban all tournaments in which hunters receive cash prizes or other incentives for their kills.
“America’s wildlife play a special role in the natural environment and in a healthy ecosystem,” Cohen said. “Killing apex predators and other targets for what some deem ‘sport’ is both cruel and unnecessary. These contests serve no legitimate wildlife-management purpose and ending them is the right thing to do.”
The legislation is endorsed by the Humane Society of the United States, Voters for Animal Rights, Animal Legal Defense Fund, and more than 50 other left-wing anti-hunting organizations.
“In addition to being unethical and unsportsmanlike, wildlife killing contests run counter to science-based wildlife management policy,” said Jennifer Eskra, director of legislative affairs for the Humane Society Legislative Fund. “This bill would end this execrable practice and protect wildlife at a national level, something that ten states have already done.”
Sportsmen have long used predator hunting, including hunting tournaments, to control predator populations to help game populations and reduce pressure on livestock. Despite predator hunting, including largely unregulated coyote hunting, America’s predator populations are strong and even pose a threat to humans, especially in areas that ban such practices.
The Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation opposes Cohen’s bill and defends the right to engage in hunting tournaments.
“Predator hunting and hunting tournaments, often referred to as ‘contests,’ are time-honored traditions that have recently been subjected to extensive scrutiny by the anti-sportsmen’s community and misinformed general public,” a statement on the organization’s website reads. “Across the nation, both practices serve legitimate and effective purposes towards fish and wildlife conservation efforts. Hunting tournaments are effective management tools of varmint species, such as coyotes, whose overabundance results in increased human-wildlife conflicts and attacks.”
Cohen and crew, along with the anti-hunting organizations pushing this bill, are simultaneously arguing that hunting tournaments are unethical and also ineffective in reducing predator populations. Ryan Callaghan, director of conservation for the outdoor media group MeatEater, pointed out the nonsensical nature of the latest anti-hunting push.
“In this case, they argue both that predator contests present a threat to the environment and that these events have no impact whatsoever,” he said. “If these events help control populations, they have a legitimate purpose under the North American Wildlife Conservation Model. If they pose no threat to target populations, why are animal rights groups so up in arms?”
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The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimates that only 6% of people hunt, and only a fraction of hunters hunt predators, let alone participate in hunting contests. With only around 14 million hunters nationwide, sportsmen are an easy target for extraordinarily well-funded animal rights groups and Democratic politicians who never hesitate to jump on board any push to infringe on the Second Amendment rights of people they view as their political opponents. However, to quote Michael Jordan roughly, liberals like deer meat, too, depending on their geographical location.
Democrats have a long history of going after the rights of hunters. Freedom-loving people, regardless of their hobbies or preferred methods of feeding their families, must stand up against the Left’s oppression of their nature-loving neighbors. The North American Model of Wildlife Conservation is the time-tested gold standard for preserving wildlife and should be defended at all costs.
Brady Leonard (@bradyleonard) is a musician, political strategist, and host of The No Gimmicks Podcast.