Thanks for letting everyone know that this legislation was defeated for the 2022 session as it was rather obscure and many may not have been aware the bill was out there.

One of the groups I really want to acknowledge on this is HOWL for Wildlife (www.howlforwildlife.org) as they had contacted the FTA about this bill last spring to see if we wanted to try using their platform to raise awareness and opposition to the bill. We had provided content for their platform and over 3,100 members of HOWL sent emails to the 17 DC councilmembers. This resulted in over 54,000 emails that the DC council received in opposition to the bill.

During a last minute public hearing on the bill in early December, around 20 or so folks gave testimony in support of the ban and only 3 individuals from the US Fur Council, the Natural Fibers Council, and a local fur garment seller provided testimony against it. What was most interesting was that a council member asked very specific questions that were identified in the content we provided to HOWL demonstrating that the council was reading and responding to these questions.

I sincerely thought that the bill would pass when we first got involved with the campaign with HOWL as the DC council was entirely represented by 1 party that typically doesn't support fur or our outdoor way of life. However, we thought it would be a good test to see how successful the platform could be for such campaigns. It worked very well and is something that we plan to utilize for all of our fights to educate non-trappers and legislators about the societal benefits of trapping and fur. I'd encourage everyone here to join HOWL as its free and really amplifies the voice of trappers by garnering support from other like-minded conservationists around the country.