Utah Residents: House Bill 125 aims to kill more lions!

Update: March 2, 2020

On March 2, 2020, House Bill 125 was signed by Governor Gary Herbert.

Update: February 21, 2020

On Tuesday, February 18, 2020, a revised version House Bill 125 passed in the Senate Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment Committee by a vote of 5:0. Now it goes to the full Senate and, if it passes, will become law unless vetoed by the governor. You can view the revised bill of here.

Revisit the original Action Alert:

House Bill (HB) 125, sponsored by Carl Albrecht, will amend the Utah State Code to require the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (UDWR) to aggressively remove (kill or have hunters kill) cougars, bears, bobcats and coyotes whenever deer and elk herds are “below objective,” – that is, when they are not as large as UDWR and certain hunter groups desire.

HB 125 is:

• • Unnecessary: UDWR has authority for managing predator and prey species using professional discretion, but would lose it under this bill.
  • Anti-science: Many factors affect deer and elk populations besides predators, including: drought, fire, disease, severe winters, livestock grazing, loss of habitat, and hunting.
  • Unethical: Cougars, bears, bobcats and coyotes will be relentlessly killed in an attempt to increase deer and elk herds, which will in turn damage the ecosystem.
  • Politically motivated: This legislation would strip legal authority to manage wildlife for all citizens from UDWR and put it into the hands of hunting organizations.

Here’s what you can DO to stop this horrid legislation from becoming law:

1. 1. Find your representative here: https://le.utah.gov/GIS/findDistrict.jsp Fill in your home address and zip code, then click on “find.” This will give you the name of your representative and your district number. Then go to the House roster to find your representative by district number and to get his/her email address and phone number: http://house.utah.gov/house-members/
   2. Email or phone your representative and ask/urge/insist/demand that he or she vote against HB 125. State your reasons (you can borrow from the above points, but be brief). Be sure to include your name and home address with zip code at the end of your message.

Contact your representative today and tell them that you want them to oppose HB 125! Please act now to conserve our wildlife and protect our ecosystems!