They sure seem a little scared. Gota give them credit for being proactive!

Whats the WWC doing to rally the troops and get organized? Should we look for something in our past due/once a year snail mail newslette<img src=icon_smile_question.gif border=0 align=middle>


==============================================

http://www.save713.org/pages/1/index.htm

This just came in from the AFA newsletter. The same principals apply but just do it the opposite way they are saying. There is some good info here along with a good mix of their lies.
========================================
SPECIAL ALERT
Save I-713! Keep crual traps out of WA woods!


The 2003 Washington State legislative session will begin on January 13,
2003 - just one week from now!


As you may remember, earlier this year the legislature came dangerously
close
to repealing I-713, the anti-trapping initiative (see [E] below for
information re: I-713 and the legislative history surrounding this issue).
By an enormous effort, we narrowly averted the overturn of this citizens'
initiative. Unfortunately, we will be facing this battle again during the
upcoming legislative session.


Our opponents are busy laying plans to bring traps back to Washington.
To date, we have heard of at least two bills that have already been
drafted to repeal or seriously undermine I-713.


Activists have been working for months, behind the scenes, to do
everything we
can to prevent passage of any bills that are detrimental to I-713. Now its
time to ask you to get involved.

It is critical for you to contact your state legislators right now
regarding I-713. They need to be hearing from their constituents before
the legislative session even begins with the message that you do not want
them to overturn I-713 or undermine it in any way.

PLEASE TAKE ACTION IMMEDIATELY!

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

PLEASE CONTACT YOUR LEGISLATORS NOW!!!

See [A ] below for information on how to identify your legislators.
See [B] below for information on how to contact your legislators.
See [C] below for some basic talking points regarding I-713.

PLEASE REMEMBER that last year the Senate actually voted 38-11 to repeal
I-713. See [D] below to find out how your senator voted on this issue.

1. Schedule a meeting with your legislators. Meeting personally with your
legislators is the best way to get their attention on an issue and will
ensure that they remember you as you continue to contact them throughout
the legislative session. Many legislators may be able to meet with you now
at their district office or a local coffee shop (ie: you won't have to go
to Olympia). The meeting does not have to be long and you do not have to
be an expert on this issue in order to talk with them about it and express
your views. If your legislator asks a question that you cannot answer, its
okay to say I dont know, but Ill get that information for you, - then
contact Lisa Wathne ([email protected]) and she will provide whatever
you need in order to respond to
him/her. If youre uncomfortable doing this alone, I can pair you up with
another activist in your district!

2. If you are unable to schedule a meeting with your legislators, contact
them right away via letter (preferable) or email.

3. Please advise Lisa Wathne ([email protected]) of any communication
that you have with your
legislators. YOU are the best way for us to know what elected officials
are thinking about I-713.

**********
[A] HOW TO IDENTIFY YOUR STATE LEGISLATORS:

a. Call the Toll-Free Legislative Hotline at 1-800-562-6000 and give the
operator your address - they will tell you who your 1 Senator and 2
Representatives are.

or

b. Go to the Washington State Legislative District Lookup site at:
http://dfind.leg.wa.gov/

*****
[B] HOW TO CONTACT YOUR STATE LEGISLATORS:

Write to your legislators:

Representative X (your Representative)
Washington State Legislature
PO Box 40600
Olympia, WA 98504-0600

Senator X (your Senator)
Washington State Legislature
PO Box 404(+legislative district #)
Olympia, WA 98504

Always include your name and address on all communication with your
legislators (so that they will know you are a constituent).

or

Email your legislators. Use this easy formula to determine your
legislators email address:

Up to 8 letters of the last name_First 2 letters of the first
[email protected]

Eg: Representative Dave Upthegrove
Email: [email protected]

Eg: Senator Adam Kline
Email: [email protected]

Always include your name and address in your email message to your
legislators (so they know you are a constituent).

Copies of any response you receive from your legislators on these issues
would be greatly appreciated.

*****
[C] Talking Points
&gt; Introduce yourself as a constituent.

&gt; Be respectful but firm and mention the following:

&gt; Please oppose any effort to overturn or undermine I-713, which bans the
inhumane trapping of animals for recreation or commerce in fur.

&gt; I-713 had wide support. It qualified for the ballot with an
all-volunteer signature-gathering effort (if you volunteered your time to
gather signatures for I-713 let your legislators know that).It passed with
a 55% majority vote and passed in 34 out of 49 legislative districts.

&gt; I-713 does allow the use of traps to protect public safety, livestock,
property, and threatened or endangered species. Anyone who needs to trap
for one of these reasons simply applies to the Washington Department of
Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) for a special trapping permit. Since passage of
I-713, the WDFW has issued more than 700 of these special trapping permits
- virtually no one who has asked for one has been denied.

&gt; A great fuss has been made regarding the concerns of ranchers and the
&quot;detrimental effect&quot; I-713 has had on them, but there is no evidence of
this. VERY FEW of the requests for special trapping permits are from
ranchers (probably less than 10%). And those ranchers who do ask for
trapping permits, get them.

&gt; The sponsors of I-713 support legislation that would allow trapping of
moles and gophers (since the initiative was only intended to ban trapping
for recreation or commerce in fur).

&gt; I-713 is reasonable and voter-approved.

*****
[D] During the 2002 Legislative Session, the Washington State Senate voted
to REPEAL I-713. How did YOUR Senator vote on this issue?

Benton, Don (district 17) VOTED TO REPEAL I-713
Brandland, Dale (district 42) new to the legislature/was not in the
Senate last year
Brown, Lisa (district 3) voted to uphold I-713
Carlson, Don (district 49) VOTED TO REPEAL I-713
Deccio, Alex (district 14) VOTED TO REPEAL I-713
Doumit, Mark (district 19) new to Senate; VOTED TO REPEAL I-713 IN HOUSE
COMMITTEE
Eide, Tracey (district 30) voted to uphold I-713
Esser, Luke (district 48) new to Senate
Fairley, Darlene (district 32) - voted to uphold I-713
Finkbeiner, Bill (district 45) VOTED TO REPEAL I-713
Franklin, Rosa (district 29) VOTED TO REPEAL I-713
Fraser, Karen (district 22) - voted to uphold I-713
Hale, Patricia (district 8) VOTED TO REPEAL I-713
Hargrove, Jim (district 24) INTRODUCED THE BILL TO REPEAL I-713; VOTED TO
REPEAL
Haugen, Mary Margaret (district 10) VOTED TO REPEAL I-713
Hewitt, Mike (district 16)- VOTED TO REPEAL I-713
Honeyford, Jim (district 15) VOTED TO REPEAL I-713
Horn, Jim (district 41) VOTED TO REPEAL I-713
Jacobsen, Ken (district 46) LEAD THE EFFORT TO REPEAL I-713; VOTED TO
REPEAL I-713
Johnson, Stephen (district 47) VOTED TO REPEAL I-713
Kastama, Jim (district 25) VOTED TO REPEAL I-713
Keiser, Karen (district 33) - voted to uphold I-713
Kline, Adam (district 37) - voted to uphold I-713
Kohl-Welles, Jeanne (district 36) - voted to uphold I-713
McAuliffe, Rosemary (district 1) VOTED TO REPEAL I-713
McCaslin, Bob (district 4) VOTED TO REPEAL I-713
Morton, Bob (district 7) VOTED TO REPEAL I-713
Mulliken, Joyce (district 13) new to Senate;would have voted to repeal
I-713 in House last year
Oke, Bob (district 26) VOTED TO REPEAL I-713
Parlette, Linda Evans (district 12) VOTED TO REPEAL I-713
Poulsen, Eric (district 34) - voted to uphold I-713
Prentice, Margarita (district 11) - voted to uphold I-713
Rasmussen, Marilyn (district 2) VOTED TO REPEAL I-713
Reardon, Aaron (district 38) new to Senate
Regala, Debbie (district 27) VOTED TO REPEAL I-713
Roach, Pam (district 31) VOTED TO REPEAL I-713
Rossi, Dino (district 5) VOTED TO REPEAL I-713
Schmidt, Dave (district 44) new to Senate; would have voted to repeal
I-713 in House last year
Sheahan, Larry (district 9) VOTED TO REPEAL I-713
Sheldon, Betti (district 23) - voted to uphold I-713
Sheldon, Tim (district 35) VOTED TO REPEAL I-713
Shin, Paull (district 21) VOTED TO REPEAL I-713
Spanel, Harriet (district 40) VOTED TO REPEAL I-713
Stevens, Val (district 39) VOTED TO REPEAL I-713
Swecker, Dan (district 20) VOTED TO REPEAL I-713
Thibaudeau, Patricia (district 43) - voted to uphold I-713
West, Jim (district 6) VOTED TO REPEAL I-713
Winsley, Shirley (district 28) VOTED TO REPEAL I-713
Zarelli, Joseph (district 18) VOTED TO REPEAL I-713

*****
[E] I-713 BACKGROUND:
I-713, sponsored by a coalition of animal protection and environmental
organizations, banned the use of sodium fluoroacetate (Compound 1080) and
sodium cyanide poisons, and generally banned the use of body-gripping
animal traps in Washington State. The initiative does contain a provision
that allows for the limited use of some traps by state permit after
non-lethal methods have first been attempted to protect public health and
safety, livestock, property, and to conduct legitimate wildlife research.

Since its passage, I-713 has been under constant assault by the trapping
lobby. The National Trappers Association, based in Texas, has made
attacking I-713 its top national priority. Along with their efforts to
convince elected officials to gut every provision of this voter-approved
law, trappers have filed two lawsuits against the initiative, both of
which have been dismissed by the courts.

Just one year after I-713 was passed into law, the state legislature came
dangerously close to overturning this widely supported measure and
returning traps to Washington's wilderness. Thirty-eight out of fifty
senators chose not to fine-tune or refine I-713, but to throw the
initiative out in its entirety. The state House of Representatives came
very close to following suit before the effort stalled at the session's
end.

Initiative foes are expected to take up the cause again during the 2003
legislative session and it is imperative that we are ready for them. We
need your help and hope that you will join us in the effort to protect
I-713 from being overturned. We can't afford to lose this important
victory for the animals and our environment!


For additional information go to: www.save713.com

**********


THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO PROTECT WASHINGTON'S WILDLIFE FROM CRUEL
TRAPS.


======================================
======================================
ACTION FOR ANIMALS
PO Box 45843
Seattle, WA 98145

[email protected]
http://www.afa-online.org
(206) 227-5752

Here is what the AFA is doing to get their point across. They sure are dedicated. Hopefully they are on their heels but they seem to always be proactive..

Have you got your emails and calls into your Reps?


================================

Washington's Wildlife Needs You Now
to Help Make Easy and Critical Phone Calls!

THREE bills have been introduced in the Washington State legislature that would overturn Initiative 713, the anti-trapping initiative we worked so hard to pass.

Without a huge effort on our part, one of these bills could pass.

We must turn up the heat now before it's too late!

To protect I-713 and to keep steel-jawed leghold traps out of
Washington's woods we must generate as many calls as possible to our
supporters to urge them to call their legislators.

The calls that volunteers have made to date are already making a huge
difference. Legislators from the districts we're targeting with phone
calls have reported that they are getting inundated with emails and calls from their constituents. BUT SO FAR, WE'VE ONLY BEEN ABLE TO MAKE CALLS TO A TINY PERCENTAGE OF THE PEOPLE WE NEED TO REACH.

Please join us at The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) office in Seattle on weekdays or Tuesday or Thursday nights to make calls. We will provide the phone script and munchies and you'll be calling HSUS members.

These are easy calls.

Please contact our volunteer coordinator, Jenn Forbes, TODAY to schedule a shift. She can be reached at

Sent out my 2nd batch of e-mails today. Looks like, based on last year's votes, we have 7 of 8 members of the Parks...committee on our side. The 8th one is new this year. Seems our biggest obstacle will be passing the House. We need to stay on top of this thing, and keep shooting e-mails to anybody and everybody in the legislature. We sat on our arses last time. Let's not do it again. Thanks for the updates Otto. I'm anxious to see which one goes on, SB5129, SB5179, or PSSB5179. It'd be nice if they'd pass SB5129 in both branches, and scrap the whole damn thing.

Hunt hard, live right, and tell your kids you love 'em!