Gov. Hochul Set to Ban These Controversial Wildlife ‘Contests’ in New York

A bill has been passed by the New York State Senate that officially bans a controversial, extreme form of animal hunting. Sources claim that the bill was backed not only by environmental activists, but by some hunters, as well, which played a huge part in an overwhelming majority voting to approve it.

We have the latest updates on what hunters in New York can, and cannot, take part in moving forward while inside state lines.

Get our free mobile app

Senate Passes Bill Banning "Cruel Wildlife Competitions", Hochul Next to Approve

The Animal Legal Defense Fund provided updates on S.4099 and A.2917, two bills that were introduced into the New York State Senate with the goal of outlawing cruel wildlife killing competitions that have been taking place across the state over the years.

Both bills were passed in resounding victories, as S.4099 passed by a vote of 46-15 on June 7, 2023, while A.2917 passed by a vote of 86-54 on June 21, 2023.

Assemblymember Deborah Glick, who sponsored one of the bills, detailed the dozens of horrific, unsporting contests take place each year in New York to kill the largest number of certain species of wildlife. These are the contests that environmental activists have been trying to get banned for years, and New York's state senators have now officially voiced their support.

Now, the bills sit on the desk of Governor Kathy Hochul, whose signature will officially outlaw these brutal killing competitions within the Empire State's borders.

As noted by the ALDF, New York is set to become the ninth state in America to outlaw this type of competition. Here's the other eight states, and when they passed their own bill of this nature:

• California in 2014
• Vermont in 2018
• New Mexico in 2019
• Arizona in 2019
• Massachusetts in 2019
• Colorado in 2020
• Washington state in 2020
• Maryland in 2021

It would be fair to assume that more states, especially up north, will be joining this list in the coming years.