Press Release: Florida Group Proposes State Constitutional Amendment to Establish Legal Rights of Manatees, the Florida Panther, and Other Iconic Wildlife-6/9/2021
Proposed amendment would recognize rights of iconic species, including the manatee, Florida panther, key deer, bottlenose dolphin, and others, as part of a five environmental amendment package
Contact
Chuck O’Neal
Chair, Florida Rights of Nature Network (FRONN)
(407) 399-3228
Thomas Linzey, Esq.
Senior Legal Counsel, Center for Democratic and Environmental Rights
(509) 474-9761
June 8, 2021: Today, Florida environmental leaders announced the circulation of petitions seeking to qualify a state constitutional amendment that would recognize legal rights of iconic Florida wildlife species. The amendment was approved for signature circulation by the Florida Division of Elections on May 20th.
The amendment would recognize legally enforceable rights of Florida’s iconic species, including the Florida panther, the manatee, key deer, the bottlenose dolphin, and five species of turtles. It would ban hunting of those species, and recognize their legal rights to “exist, thrive, and evolve,” while providing Floridians the ability to enforce the amendment’s provisions in state courts.
The amendment is part of a five-amendment environmental proposal aiming for the November 2022 statewide ballot. The other amendments would recognize the right to clean water and the rights of waterways, ban toll road construction on conservation land, ban the dredging and filling of Florida wetlands, and ban captive wildlife hunting facilities.
Florida’s iconic species are facing increased threats. This includes the manatee – which is listed as “threatened” under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA). In May, Florida wildlife officials reported that manatees are facing a massive die-off this year, with habitat loss and water pollution as major causes. Similarly, key deer and the Florida panther, which are both listed as “endangered” under the ESA, are facing significant risks due to ongoing habitat loss from human development.
Chuck O’Neal, Chair of the Florida Rights of Nature Network, explained, “It’s time to replace a state government which has been focused on developing as much of Florida as it can, with a system which permanently protects what is important to Floridians and our tourism-based economy. These amendments would achieve several goals – stopping the systematic destruction of Florida’s wetlands while providing permanent protection to what makes Florida special – its waterways, its clean water, and its iconic wildlife. It’s time to keep Florida alive and vote ’yes’ on all five.”
Mari Margil, Executive Director of the Center for Democratic and Environmental Rights, which provided assistance with the drafting of the measures and assists with “rights of nature” measures worldwide, stated, “For too long, state governments have enabled developers who want to destroy the natural environment. These amendments represent a re-programming of government, to a system which protects, rather than destroys, nature. In establishing the rights of waterways and iconic species, the amendments are an opportunity to protect and restore nature, following in the footsteps of countries around the world which are changing how they protect vanishing species and threatened ecosystems.”
To qualify for the ballot, the initiatives must collect nearly 900,000 petitions over the next eight months. To read the proposed amendments and sign the petitions, visit https://fl5.org/.
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