TALLAHASSEE, Florida—This November, Florida voters are being urged to vote NO on Amendment 2, a dangerously deceptive proposal that poses a threat to Florida’s wildlife, private property rights and natural resources. Black bears, dolphins, sea turtles and many other species are at risk. While it’s framed as an amendment to protect hunting and fishing, in reality, it carries many hidden risks that could have devastating consequences for landowners, wildlife and Florida’s ecosystems.
“Don’t fall for the slick advertising—Amendment 2 is much more nefarious than simply providing a right to hunt, which is already protected under existing state law,” said Kate MacFall, Florida state director for the Humane Society of the United States. “Amendment 2 is a dangerous power grab that strips away the protections safeguarding our critically important marine species and wildlife, enshrining cruel and unnecessary activities in our state’s most sacred document. Voting no on Amendment 2 is the only way to ensure that Florida’s property owners and our unique ecosystems remain protected from the harmful consequences of this misleading amendment.”
Amendment 2 seeks to enshrine hunting and fishing as the “preferred means” of managing wildlife into Florida’s constitution. Language in the amendment also protects the use of “traditional methods,” an intentionally vague and undefined term. Special interest groups have advised lawmakers to use that term to codify cruel and unpopular practices, such as the use of archaic steel-jawed leghold traps and strangling wire snares or chasing bears and other wildlife with packs of trailing hounds, which are widely opposed by Floridians. By prioritizing “traditional methods” of managing fish and wildlife, the amendment could also roll back key marine wildlife protections, or make it more difficult for lawmakers to pass new reforms like the ban on destructive gill nets, a death trap that entangles and kills dolphins, sea turtles, manatees and other marine species that Florida worked hard to protect. If Amendment 2 passes, these vital safeguards could be jeopardized to the point of no return.
“Amendment 2 is a Trojan Horse designed by reckless interest groups to deceive Floridians,” said James Scott, campaign manager for the No to 2 campaign and chapter chair of Sierra Club Florida. “No one is attacking hunting or fishing in our state. As a second-generation Floridian raised in a hunting and fishing family, I know the 'why' is a lie. Whether you care about state parks, black bears, marine life or simply preserving fish and wildlife for future generations, join us in rejecting Amendment 2.”
By establishing hunting as the “preferred means” of wildlife management in Florida’s constitution, Amendment 2 could also pave the way for senseless trophy hunting of species like black bears, ignoring proven non-lethal conflict prevention methods that are more humane and effective, such as the management of trash and other food attractants.
Amendment 2 also poses a serious risk to private property rights. The original language of the legislation included critical protections for private property owners, but those protections were not included in the final version. By enshrining hunting as a public right, Amendment 2 could allow hunters to trespass on private land in pursuit of animals, undermining Floridians’ basic right to control what happens on their own property, putting families' safety and privacy at risk.
Enshrining hunting and fishing as “public rights” and putting the activities on par with free speech in Florida’s constitution could also prevent the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission from passing new wildlife protections if they conflict with hunting or fishing interests, undoubtedly creating endless legal roadblocks that favor special interests over conservation.
For more information, please visit NoTo2.org
Paid political advertisement. Paid for in kind by the Humane Society of the United States, 1255 23rd St., NW, Suite 450, Washington, DC 20037. Approved by No to 2.