Special Alert for Arizona Voters
There is a new threat to Mexican gray wolves in Arizona. It’s called Proposition 109, and you will have a chance to speak for wolves when you cast your ballot in Arizona’s General election. A coalition of groups is urging Arizonans to vote “NO” on Proposition 109 in the November 2, 2010 election. Early voting began on October 7.
Please join the campaign at www.NOon109.com or find us on Facebook.
Reasons to oppose Proposition 109 are:
Prop 109 is a power grab that puts special interests ahead of scientific wildlife management
This measure would give the Arizona Legislature “exclusive” authority to make decisions on wildlife issues. If Prop 109 were to pass, wildlife management would no longer be based on science, but on the whims of politicians and powerful special interests.
Prop 109 could open the door to inhumane and extreme wildlife-killing practices.
Prop 109 makes it almost impossible to halt inhumane and unsporting practices. It could even result in the nullification of the 1994 voter-approved ballot initiative that banned steel-jawed leghold traps and poisons on public lands. Leghold traps are cruel and indiscriminate, but Prop 109 could reverse a sixteen-year-old victory and legalize these voter-outlawed landmines for wildlife and pets-putting our wolf population at further risk.
Prop 109 takes away your voter freedoms and your right to protect wildlife
The politicians who wrote and support Prop 109 want to grab more power and prevent voters or professional wildlife scientists from having a say over wildlife protection policies. Arizonans have used petitions to protect animals when the state legislature has failed to act, and voters have passed statewide initiatives not only to restrict trapping but also to ban cockfighting and inhumane factory farming practices. Supporters of Prop 109 want to take away our freedom to protect animals at the ballot box.
Prop 109 could cost taxpayers millions and open the door for frivolous lawsuits.
The vague language in Prop 109 could subject the state to expensive lawsuits from poaching criminals who want to argue that bag limits or season dates for a particular species are “unreasonable.”
Protect your voting rights and Arizona’s wildlife: Vote “NO” on Proposition 109!
