A state appeals court has upheld voter-approved bans on most animal trapping, bearbaiting and using dogs to hunt bears and cougars.
Thirteen groups, primarily hunting and fishing organizations, sought to overturn the bans, passed by voters in 1996 and 2000.
They argued that the bans violated the state's public trust doctrine by ceding control of wildlife management to the ballot box.
Ed Owens, chairman of the lead group, Citizens for Responsible Wildlife Management, said Thursday, "Wildlife should be managed for the common good, by science and not politics.” Owens said, "These measures are not based in science. They're driven by an advocacy organization whose singular purpose is to tell the rest of the world how to deal with animals."
A three-judge panel of the state Court of Appeals in Tacoma rejected their argument in a decision released Tuesday, saying there was no evidence the state had relinquished control over a public resource. If anything, the judges wrote, the state is exhibiting greater control in passing the bans.
The ruling upheld the decision of a Thurston County Superior Court judge. Owens said the groups had not decided whether to appeal to the state Supreme Court.
At issue were two initiatives: I-655, which banned bearbaiting and hunting bears, cougars, bobcats and lynx with dogs; and I-713, which banned the use of two poisons and most body-gripping traps.
Among other reasons, I-713 was controversial because even though it makes exceptions for live beaver traps and for common rat and mouse traps, it forbid the trapping of moles and gophers that tear up suburban lawns and golf courses. To alleviate concern, the Fish and Wildlife Commission has said it wouldn't make a priority out of tracking down mole or gopher trappers.
Wildlife groups praised this week's ruling, saying the measures were sensible and that Citizens for Responsible Wildlife Management was "grossly misnamed."
The organization's argument was a "perverse twist on the public trust doctrine," according to Jon Lovvorn, counsel for the intervening wildlife groups, which included the Humane Society of the United States and The Fund for Animals. Lovvorn said, "We usually think of things that destroy a resource as violating the public trust doctrine."
© Copyright 2006 by North Cascades Broadcasting, Inc
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