Excludes certain amphibians and reptiles from the definition of small game; repealer

• Democratic12
• Republican3

◆ The sponsor's argument

Why Julia Salazar says this is needed

We are experiencing a global extinction crisis 'driven by climate change, habitat destruction, and pollution. Amphibians and reptiles are among the most endangered animal species on the planet. 40% of amphibi- ans worldwide are threatened with extinction. 60% of the world's turtles are threatened or already extinct. There are two amphibians and ten reptiles currently listed as threatened or endangered in New York, with an additional ten species on the special concern list. New York does not have a baseline inventory of populations of native frogs, toads, salamanders, newts, snakes, lizards or turtles so we do not know the extent of the decline in our state over the last decades. Anecdotally, it is high. The DEC Atlas project has attempted to map distributions of our amphibians and reptiles and is currently using volunteers to collect more data on these animals, but many local populations are already in severe decline or extirpated. Given the extreme threat to these sensitive creatures, it is common sense to prohibit a further reduction in their populations due to hunt- ing. This bill would remove certain amphibians and reptiles from the list of animals that can be taken as small game in our state. The bill will not affect nuisance permits or the rights of farmers to take certain animals on their own farmland.

This is the sponsor's own case for the bill, quoted from their memorandum. It is not Agora's description of what the bill does.