California has fewer hunters than ever. Would waiving state fees revive the practice?

Fewer Californians are hunting than ever before and one state lawmaker is trying to revive the practice by waiving state fees.

Assemblyman James Gallagher, R-Yuba City, has introduced a bill that would require the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to offer two “free hunting” days a year for non-licensed hunters.

“The Director of the Department of Fish and Wildlife already has the authority to allow two free hunting days. This bill simply requires that these free hunting days are granted,” Gallagher said in a statement. “This bill creates an opportunity for non-hunters to learn and become engaged in wildlife stewardship and hunting.”

An adult resident hunting license costs $49.94, while a non-resident license costs $174.45.

Under the bill, the non-licensed hunter would be required to be accompanied by an experienced, licensed hunter and also to have taken a hunter education course. The bill specifies that one of those free hunting days would be in the spring, and the other in the fall.

If passed into law, the bill would go into effect July 1, 2021.

Gallagher is trying to reverse a downward trend in hunting in the Golden State.

In 1979, the state issued more than 530,000 hunting licenses; that number gradually declined over the decades, and in 2019, the state issued just over 244,000 licenses.

With fewer hunters, California lawmakers recently have restricted some hunting practices.

California lawmakers last year banned the practice of fur trapping, as well as the sale of fur products.

This year, lawmakers are considering a bill that would ban the use of dogs in deer hunting.

Senate Bill 1041, sponsored by Sen. Ben Hueso, D-San Diego, would make California the 40th state to end the practice, according to a statement from bill sponsor Social Compassion in Legislation. Deer are the last species of game mammal allowed to be hunted with dogs in California.

“Deer have no chance against a pack of trained dogs,” Hueso said in a statement. “Thirty-nine states have recognized the cruel and grotesque nature of hound hunting, and it is time that California join them.”

This story was originally published February 20, 2020 at 11:07 AM.