California becomes the first state in the nation to outlaw fur trapping
California has just become the first state in the nation to outlaw fur trapping.
The Wildlife Protection Act of 2019, signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom Wednesday, will prohibit the trapping of native animals including grey fox, coyote, beaver, badger and mink, along with the sale of their pelts, which often end up in foreign markets.
The new legislation will officially end an industry that lawmakers argued was too small and costly to regulate.
Only 133 trapping licenses were bought in California in 2017 according to the bill. Along with just four fur dealer licenses sold in the same year, just over $16,000 in revenue was generated for the state Department of Fish and Wildlife.
During the same year, 68 trappers killed more than 1,500 animals, among them, grey fox, coyote, beaver, badger and mink.
The pelts collectively sold for less than $9,000, a sum far beneath the costs accrued by the state to oversee the industry.
At: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/09/04/new-california-law-protects-animals-being-killed-their-fur/2214791001/
Killed off: California's fur trade, a marginal industry that costs far more to regulate than it adds to the economy, has now been banned.
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