New Paltz mayor Jason West has risen to prominence
for his defiant support of gay marriage. With West and his Green
Party administration under scrutiny from the state attorney general,
a lot of other town business has been moved to the back burner. Among
the slower track items is a potentially precedent-setting trapping
ban. Based on a need for public safety in a densely populated town,
New Paltz may ban trapping, in spite of a DEC claim of sovereignty
over all things trapping throughout the state.
As the trapping initiative stalled, Wildlife Watch
called on West to show the same courage of conviction on the trapping
measure as he had demonstrated on gay marriage. In a letter to a
regional newspaper group, Anne Muller wrote: “If Jason considers
the issuance of marriage licenses for same-sex couples to be his ‘moral
obligation,’ then why is the protection of wild animals and residents
from the danger and cruelty of trapping not his moral obligation?”
The Villages Environment Committee has since met with
Wildlife Watch to move the trapping measure forward. A measure should
go before the village board this summer.
