Florida voters are deciding on six amendments this November, including the most widely debated and controversial measures that would enshrine abortion rights and legalize marijuana.
But also on the ballot is Amendment 2. If passed, it will make hunting and fishing the “preferred method” of wildlife management methods in the state.
Friends of the Everglades Executive Director Eve Samples said the amendment implies a conversation between conservation efforts and individual rights.
“When people hear about adding new rights, I think initially the instinct is to be supportive,” she said. “But the devil is really in the details of constitutional amendments, especially amendments like this one, that are not driven by citizens.”
Instead, Samples said the measure is driven by special interests. The language of the amendment did not need to be approved by the Florida Supreme Court.
“We need to make sure our rights and freedom are really what they seem, and that we’re not forcing future generations to pay the price of these catchphrases and tempting moves to add new rights because there really can be long-term consequences,” she said.
Establishing that hunting and fishing is the “preferred method” of wildlife management methods in Florida would mean that other methods, such as controlled burns and timber trimming, would all come second.
The measure would make it more difficult for the state to create laws for conservation efforts restricting hunting and fishing.
Samples said a good example is the pythons in the Everglades. Hunting is encouraged for the invasive species that threaten human safety and the ecosystem. If the amendment passes, Samples said hunting and fishing will look more like that across the state.
The right to hunt and fish is already included in Florida State Statutes, but Amendment 2 would include it in the state’s constitution.
Ducks Unlimited, the American Sportfishing Association, and the Florida Sportsman’s Conservation Association both endorsed the measure.
“In Florida, hunting and fishing is a strong part of many citizens’ heritage,” the Director of Public Policy Education at Ducks Unlimited – Southern Region, Ed Penny, told The Alligator. “It’s something to be proud of. It’s something to protect.”
U.S. Sugar, which WLRN reported is under scrutiny from conservation efforts for polluting the Everglades water with run-off from sugar cane farms, donated $25,000 to support the Amendment at the beginning of October.
The measure needs a 60% supermajority to pass.
“The only way that Florida’s waterways, green spaces, and wilderness will survive is if we use the best science to make decisions to protect it,” Samples said.
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