Protect the Cownose Rays from Barbaric Killing Contests in the Chesapeake Bay!!

In 2017, Maryland passed legislation that prohibited Cownose Rays killing contests and required the Department of Natural Resources to prepare a species management plan. During these brutal contests, often lasting for several days, hundreds of defenseless Cownose Rays were shot with arrows, hit with bats, and then dumped into the Chesapeake Bay. Since Cownose Rays migrate to the Chesapeake Bay when they are pregnant, many of the victims of these contests were pregnant. After they were speared and bludgeoned in cruel contests broadcast on social media, the carcasses of these creatures were left to float in the Chesapeake Bay.

The deadline for the species management plan has passed and the moratorium on the Cownose Rays Killing Contests will expire on July 1, 2019, placing the Cownose Rays in danger!

Ask your legislators to vote FOR Cownose Ray Fishery Management Plan and Moratorium on Contests: SB 143/HB 213 to extend the moratorium on the killing contests and ensure the safety of the Cownose Rays.

Please contact your legislators and tell them that you SUPPORT SB 143/HB 213!

Cownose Ray
Photo by Jin Kemoole on Flickr | License: CC BY 2.0 | Unmodified

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With compassion,

Maryland Votes for Animals, Inc.