2020 CHANGES WITH FISH AND GAME LAWS- Trapping of Fur-Bearing Animals

​Trapping animals for the sale or use of fur is now illegal in California, the first state to implement such a law. The fur-bearing animals protected by this law include grey fox, coyote, beaver, badger and mink.
 
Previously, trappers were required to obtain a trapping license, but the state claims that the licensing system had become unwieldy. Apparently, the state issued only 133 trapping licenses and four fur dealer licenses in 2017, generating only $16,000 in revenue for the state.  “Not only does the cruel fur trapping trade decimate our increasingly vulnerable wildlife populations, running this program doesn’t even make fiscal policy sense,” Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez (D), author of the legislation, said in a statement. “Taxpayers are subsidizing this unnecessary commercial activity because the cost of managing this program isn’t even covered by the revenue from trapping license fees.”