| For Immediate Release March 28, 2019 Contact: Mary Finelli, Save the Rays Coalition, 301.625.9321, info@savetheraysmd.org Kirsten Peek, the Humane Society of the United States: 202.744.3875, kpeek@humanesociety.org |
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Maryland General Assembly Extends Cownose Ray Killing Contests Moratorium |
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Bill prevents cruel contests from resuming until DNR prepares ray management plan. |
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Annapolis, MD – The Maryland legislature has acted to protect Chesapeake Bay wildlife by passing a bill to extend a moratorium on cruel, unnecessary, and wasteful killing contests for cownose rays until the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) creates a fishery management plan for the species. These gentle creatures have been the victims of bowfishing contests, whereby thousands of them, including many pregnant rays and their pups, were shot with arrows, bludgeoned and suffocated. They were killed solely for entertainment and prize money, not for food or to prevent harm. “Maryland’s legislature is to be commended for again acting to protect these beloved animals who are native to the Bay,” said Mary Finelli, chair of the Save the Rays Coalition. “In addition to preventing senseless cruelty, this strongly supported bipartisan legislation also protects the Bay’s ecosystem.” The Maryland Senate passed a final version of the 2019 Cownose Ray Fishery Management Plan and Moratorium on Contests ( HB 213 ) today, by a vote of 47-0. The legislation now goes to Gov. Larry Hogan for his signature. Legislation passed in 2017 imposed a moratorium on sponsoring, conducting, or participating in a cownose ray killing contest in state waters until July 1, 2019. It also required the DNR to prepare a management plan for the rays by the end of 2018. The DNR, however, failed to meet that deadline. The savage abuse of cownose rays came under the glare of media attention in 2015, after Fish Feel and SHARK (Showing Animals Respect and Kindness) documented these barbaric contests in which rays were slaughtered en masse with prizes going to those who killed the heaviest rays. Participants were filmed dumping dead or dying rays back into the Bay by the barrelful or tossing them into dumpsters. Cownose rays have just one baby per year, making their population very vulnerable to overfishing. They make easy targets as they have wide bodies and tend to swim on the surface of the water. “Killing animals for ‘fun’ and prizes is antithetical to how Marylanders believe our wildlife should be treated,” said Emily Hovermale, Maryland state director for the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS). “The Humane Society of the United States and our Maryland supporters applaud the Maryland legislature for extending a moratorium on cruel and wasteful cownose ray killing contests.” Cownose rays have long been scapegoated and persecuted for depletion of oysters and other shellfish. Scientists have found no evidence that U.S. Atlantic cownose rays have caused such declines, and instead warn that, as one of the world’s least productive marine species, cownose rays are at great risk from unregulated fishing. “Maryland has established itself as a global leader in conservation of this much maligned, exceptionally vulnerable species,” said Sonja Fordham, president of Shark Advocates International, a project of The Ocean Foundation. “With the killing contest ban reaffirmed, we turn our focus to ensuring that the state’s broader cownose ray conservation plan is completed to prevent overfishing by other sectors.” Thanks goes to the bill sponsors Del. Dana Stein (D-11) and Sen. Ron Young (D-3), to Maryland Votes for Animals, the American Elasmobranch Society, and other organizations that helped promote the bills, and to the many concerned citizens who contacted their legislators to request their support of it. View a fact sheet and FAQ for more information. #savetherays Save the Rays Coalition is a grassroots coalition of non-profit organizations working to ban inhumane contests that target the cownose rays of the Chesapeake Bay. Coalition partners include: Animal Legal Defense Fund, Center for Biological Diversity, Fish Feel, For All Animals, Last Chance for Animals, Maryland Votes for Animals, Midshore Riverkeeper Conservancy, Sea Shepherd Legal, SHARK, and The Sierra Club. |