Good riddance to fur trapping

Sept. 4 was a victory for California wildlife. Assembly Bill 273, also known as the Wildlife Protection Act of 2019, was signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom. This bill makes California the first state to ban fur trapping and fur sales activities, which have seen a drastic decline in recent years and have been left to taxpayers to subsidize. Trapping has deep roots in California’s history, but luckily for the state’s native fur-bearing mammals, as a society we have finally evolved past this exploitative and especially cruel pastime. I think we can all agree with Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, who wrote the legislation, when she tweeted, “Fur trapping is a cruel practice that has no place in 21st Century California.” Cheers to that! Let’s hope other states follow suit.