Last year, the city of Denver tried to pass a ban on fur products. That ban was ultimately rejected, but that didn’t stop anglers from mobilizing against it. That ban would’ve outlawed felt hats and other animal products, and there was concern fly shops wouldn’t be able to sell fur-based products (like an elk-hair caddis) if the ban passed.
Boulder, Colorado, already has a fur ban in place, but there’s apparently a carve-out for fly shops.
Now, Washington State is jumping on the fur ban bandwagon with a proposal in the state legislature that has moved out of committee.
According to The Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF), this Washington fur ban “claims to be a fur farming reform; however, it would have impacts on trapping, fly-fishing, and other outdoor activities and products.”
The bill’s text reads that a person “may neither participate in fur farming, nor produce or manufacture a fur product.” Fur is defined in this bill as “any animal skin with hair, fleece, or fur fibers attached.”
However, the bill specifically states that a “fur product” doesn’t include “deerskin…with hair attached,” or “the pelt or skin of an animal that is preserved through taxidermy.”
Despite that explicit language, some detractors are still concerned the ban is too far-reaching and will directly impact fly anglers. After all, if you’ve ever tied flies before, you’re aware of how many fly tying products come with the skin attached. Elk, deer, moose hair, and bucktail are examples that come immediately to mind.
Would a patch of elk fur used for fly tying count as a fur product “preserved through taxidermy?”
That lack of specificity, and a lack of explicit exemptions for fly anglers, has the fly fishing community particularly upset.
On a broader scale, though, this bill could impact fur trapping in Washington, which is essential to keeping predator populations in check, according to CSF.
“Washington state relies on the services provided by licensed trappers to aid in human-wildlife conflict mitigation through their Wildlife Control Operator program,” CSF said in a statement.
The bill is currently out of committee, and there is no word whether it will be taken up in the full House of Representatives.
Banning fur and fur products is a woke foolishness where fur products are banned by the same woke liberals who want petroleum banned. Well, if you can’t have fur and you can’t have synthetics, there are few choices beyond freezing in winter. Stop voting and supporting foolish Democrats and join common sense.