ALBANY – The state legislature has passed a bill that would end wildlife killing contests where participants compete to kill the most, the heaviest and smallest animals for cash and prizes.
Brian Shapiro of Saugerties, the state director of the Humane Society of the United States, is hopeful that the governor will sign the measure into law.
“Why so many groups are opposed to this is because wildlife is a resource that is held in public trust for all the residents of New York, not just fringe groups that partake in these extreme competitions where the animals are then thrown into a dumpster when they are done,” he said.
If signed by the governor, New York would become the ninth state to outlaw those events, following California, Vermont, New Mexico, Arizona, Massachusetts, Colorado and Washington state and Maryland.
