New updates on Federal and Minnesota Legislation
Hey H4H Team! Here are some Legislative updates for you. |
1) Senator Nathan Wesenberg is introducing a bill to increase funding for wolf predation on livestock and to also have pets included for reimbursement when pets are killed by wolves.
2) Senator Nathan Wesenberg is looking at and considering language for a bill to give Sheriffs even more authority when it comes to wolf predation and nuisance animals.
3) There is talk of putting a bill forward again concerning a wolf hunting season when wolves are delisted at the federal level, specifically where it says that the DNR may have a hunting season, and changing the word may to must.
4) At the Federal Level, the bill to have wolves removed from federal protection is moving forward and it is likely to pass into law soon. How soon? I was told plenty early this summer for individual states to have a hunting season this fall. What does this mean for Minnesota, who is reluctant to ever have a wolf season? Wolves right now can only be taken when they are threatening a human life, once they are removed from federal protection, then a wolf may be taken in defense of livestock or pets. The state law wording is kind of vague in this area and should give livestock and pet owners some liberty to protect their animals.
A link to the federal wolf delisting bill is here:
5) Senator Steve Green introduced a bill to have Conservation Officers turned over to Sheriff's for management and control. When we first heard about this bill earlier this week we were really pumped up, as we understood that the DNR approved the bill; however, this was slightly off base. The DNR did review the bill and did recommend some changes if the bill went forward, so yes, the bill was reviewed by the DNR with recommended changes, but the DNR did not necessarily support the bill. Bummer. This is still a great bill. H4H has heard so many horror stories of Conservation Officers being bullies to sportsmen, CO's violating the Constitution, CO's trespassing, and CO's even seizing property that is not subject to forfeiture. H4H does also fully recognize the importance of enforcing wildlife laws, and we do not approve of anyone breaking the law, but we also acknowledge that a locally elected sheriff managing a CO would give sportsmen a voice of reason at the local level. At first glance, H4H does support this law, please review it and let us know what you think.
Here is a link to the law:
6) Senator Steve Green introduced a bill to not allow a CO to seize property or conduct a search without a search warrant. This law seems awesome; however, I believe that the U.S. Constitution already covers this issue? So, it appears that an additional state law is needed to reel in the CO's in order to get them to respect the U.S. Constitution? Please review this law and let us know your thoughts.
Here is the link:
Stay tuned, we expect more updates soon.
Thank you,
Dillan Porter
H4H President
Kommentare