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There is a bill, House Bill 372, in the current legislative session that seeks to sneak trapping into the state constitution by amendment. Deceptively called “Establish the Right to Hunt”, it slips in language that enshrines trapping as a heritage right for all Montana citizens. Furthermore, it specifies that “the state shall give preference to hunting, fishing, and trapping by citizens as the primary but not exclusive means of the state’s management of wild fish and wildlife populations for the benefit of all Montanans.”

This is a Trojan horse with multiple heads. First, the opportunity to harvest wild game and fish is already protected in our constitution from the 2004 ballot that passed (MCA 87-1-107). The bill sponsors are just trying to add trapping, hoping the smoke and mirrors of the misnomered bill title will gaslight the public. More importantly, the true intent of the bill is to elevate these sportsmen pursuits as rights. Second, this is setting a damaging precedent that effectively allows citizens with special interests to codify their pursuits into state law. It will undermine Fish, Wildlife and Parks’ authority to manage wildlife using scientific data by trained biologists and instead defer management actions to citizens. Third, by deferring these actions to citizen harvest, the state is opening itself up to litigation in disputes over a “constitutionally protected” right. Finally, the wolf in sheep’s clothing at work here is the National Rifle Association. The NRA is actively pushing this identical legislative language to urge states to adopt constitutional amendments that protect the right to hunt, fish, and trap.

Since 1777, Vermont was the only state in the union that protected the right to hunt in its constitution. Over two hundred years later, the NRA began their campaign in Alabama and have, to date, successfully been able to adopt these rights into the constitutions of 23 states. Currently, the 2023 legislatures of Oregon, Iowa, and Montana have bills drafted to adopt the same rights. Arizona has been the only state to reject it. Once again, politicians motivated by fear-mongering and control, who are beholden to campaign donors and national groups representing the special interests of outfitters, gun rights, and trophy hunting organizations, are abusing the state constitution.

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Michael Stoerger is the Bozeman director of a wildlife conservation nonprofit called Footloose Montana.

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