Letter: Vote no on Initiative 1401

Initiative 1401, which seeks state penalties for wildlife trafficking, is the worst initiative I have ever seen. This is an outright taking of private property. Endangered species are already protected under a 1973 treaty “The Convention on the international trade in endangered species,” which makes trafficking illegal. There is also the Endangered Species Act of 1972.

If I legally hunt or buy elephant, leopard, lion or other species, this is my private property and I should be able to sell or give it away at my own will. Safari Club International works hard to help protect these species in their native countries. This would do nothing to stop poachers and would hurt the poor people in Africa, as they would love the financial support and the meat, while the poachers would chop off elephant ivory and leave the meat to rot.

Read the article in the Oct. 11 paper by Stuart Halson. How would you like it if you couldn’t sell or give away your car or other private property? Same difference.

Louis W. Meissner

Kennewick

This story was originally published October 22, 2015 at 5:31 PM with the headline "Letter: Vote no on Initiative 1401."