STAND. COM. REP. NO. 267
Honolulu, Hawaii
S.D. 1
President of the Senate
Thirty-First State Legislature
State of Hawaii
Sir:
Your Committee on Agriculture and Environment, to which was referred S.B. No. 969 entitled:
"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO ANIMAL FUR PRODUCTS,"
begs leave to report as follows:
The purpose and intent of this measure is to prohibit the sale of certain animal fur products.
Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Humane Society of the United States, Humane Society Veterinary Medical Association, InStyle Magazine, Stella McCartney, Down to Earth Organic & Natural, Animal Rights Hawai‘i, and three individuals. Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from International Fur Federation, White Fox Fur & Feather Co., Wisconsin Trappers Association, Natural Fibers Alliance, and seventeen individuals. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, and one individual.
Your Committee finds that existing laws provide relatively little oversight of the fur farming and fur trade industries, leading to the compromised health, safety, and welfare of wild animals and animals living within fur farms. Additionally, the fur industry poses serious environmental threats; fur factory farm industrial waste and runoff from animal waste has been tied to polluted air, soil, and waterways. Consumers' concerns for animal cruelty and environmental threats have led to fashion trends moving away from using animal fur and investment in the production of faux fur alternatives that has significantly reduced environmental impacts. Your Committee finds that eliminating the manufacture and sale of fur products in Hawaii will foster a more humane environment.
Your Committee has heard the concerns of the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs that the regulation of animal fur products would require oversight by a department or an agency well-versed in matters involving fur farming, fur trade industries, and animal rights.
Your Committee also heard testifier concerns that this measure infringes on personal choice. Testifiers stated that trapping assists with the protection and monitoring of endangered species, reintroduction of species into their original habitats, public safety, prevention of property damage, protection of crops and livestock, protection of ecosystems and habitat, and disease management to protect animal and human health.
Your Committee has
amended this measure by making technical,
nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.
As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Agriculture and Environment that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 969, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 969, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committees on Commerce and Consumer Protection and Judiciary.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Agriculture and Environment,
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________________________________ MIKE GABBARD, Chair |
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