Speaker 0: Thank you. So the amended resolution is in front of us, and at this time we'll take public comment when your name is called, please come to any of the microphones at the front of the chamber. Introduce yourself. Each speaker will be given 2 minutes. For speaker is Mark Plunkett, followed by Sean Cantrell and then Jared Axelrod.
Speaker 3: To thank you, Honorable City Council, and particularly Mr. Bagshaw. Council Member Bagshaw. Want to read a brief statement from our CEO and President and a few comments. Wildlife experts report that within the next decade or sooner, some of the planet's most precious and endangered species may face a critical tipping point towards extinction, as per president CEO Bob Davidson of the Seattle Aquarium. The aquarium's mission of inspiring conservation over our marine environment compels us to strongly support Initiative 1401 and this resolution, by strengthening protections against trafficking in products from these increasingly endangered animals, we can help save sharks, manta rays and sea turtles and protect our ocean life. And a couple of other things. In the last couple of months, we've worked very closely with the campaign. We have had tabling tables set up by the campaign around the exhibits at the aquarium. There's been no exception. The observations presented to me from those at the table are that our visitors have very much appreciated. Seattle Aquarium has decided to take a stand on this. They expect this these days in zoos and aquariums. So it is fitting very nicely with the mission of the aquarium. And we've got over 800,000 visitors that come through the facility each year. And a sample of them are indicating to us right on Seattle Aquarium. And I want to pass that on to you folks. Also, I want to pass on our support has come from not just the Seattle Aquarium, but the Woodland Park Zoo, the point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium Point, Defiance Zoo and Aquarium and Northwest Trek. In addition to the Humane Society. And finally, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums is the accrediting body for us. And there are 11 states in 16 facilities that are looking at this election next week, and they anticipate that there will be a momentum sweeping across the country starting in Seattle, starting in the state of Washington. They're very eager to see how they can participate with us. Thank you.
Speaker 0: Thank you, Mark. Sean. Thank you, council members. My name is Shaun Cantrell. I'm the Northwest Regional Director for Defenders of Wildlife. We have about 25,000 members here in Washington State, and several thousand of those are residents here in the city of Seattle. I'm here just to urge you to pass this resolution initiative. 1401 is an important piece of an overall effort to try to stop the flow of illegally trafficked endangered species. There's a lot of endangered species we have here in our own region, and we and others are working hard on that. This is an opportunity for the United States in the state of Washington specifically to deal with a little known problem here, which is that the United States is one of the leading importers of illegally trafficked wildlife species. And so this effort with the state of Washington and the Port of Seattle as one of the leading places where illegally trafficking items are coming through, is an important step for us to be able to try to do our part. Again, this won't solve the whole problem by any means, but this is a valuable part. And the city of Seattle speaking up on this will be an important measure for communicating to the voters here in Seattle and in the state of Washington. That initiative 1401 is a positive, valuable first step and a next step and urge you to pass this resolution. Thank you all. Thank you. Jared will be followed by Michael McIntire and Maddie Query.
Speaker 3: Councilperson Burgess and members of the Council. Thank you for the opportunity to speak this afternoon. My name is Gerard Axelrod here on behalf of Vulcan. Over the years, Vulcan has devoted substantial resources to protecting endangered animals all over the world, including elephants, rhinos, sharks and rays. From the threats of poaching and the profitable, profitable wildlife trafficking industry. However, to help with on the ground anti-poaching efforts in Africa provided foundational data collected by the great elephant census and engage the public on the problems we face through the power of film such as the upcoming documentary Racing Extinction. But as we have seen and heard, the lucrative trafficking in products derived from these beloved animals is not just a problem in Asia and Africa. It's a problem here in the United States and here in Washington State. That is why Vulcan is proud to work with our local and national partners, some of which are here today to support Initiative 1401 and get it on this November's ballot. The need to act cannot be more urgent. Research suggests that up to 50,000 elephants are killed every year just for their ivory. The tiger population has dwindled and only 3200 remain in the wild, and over 100 million sharks and rays are killed every year through illegal fishing to fuel or to fuel, lucrative trade and some pseudoscience. So we're pleased to see the Council taking a strong stand in favor of AI 1401 Seattle, with its large international airport and cargo ports, is on the front lines of preventing wildlife products from entering the United States. So thank you for your support of 1401. And I especially want to thank Councilmember Bagshaw for introducing this resolution and help include it on today's agenda. And thank you all for showing that Seattle not be a market of choice for those who wish to profit from these iconic animals. And I urge your support of Resolution 31625. Thank you.
Speaker 0: Thank you to Michael. Michael McIntyre. I didn't mean. Okay. That's okay. You don't. You don't have to do this. Matty. Okay. Caitlin McCormick. Oh. Deb in Gilbert, I believe. No. Dylan Gilbert. Gosh, we scared all you guys away here. Jennifer Hillman. Perfect. Thank you. Jennifer will be followed by Kirsten Search.
Speaker 1: Hello. Jennifer Hillman with the Humane Society of the United States. We're proud to be supporting this initiative. And thank you for this resolution. We have a long history at the agency us of work to protect wildlife, including native wildlife here in Washington State, and the protection of endangered species and wildlife trafficking, both in the U.S. and internationally . This issue is of particular importance to our members, not only here in Seattle, but across the state. They've basically given us a directive and we have a responsibility to do everything we can to stop this cruelty. What we're particularly concerned with at the agency is the incredible amount of animal cruelty involved in the poaching and trafficking trade . We know of incidences in which poachers have poisoned watering holes with cyanide, killing hundreds of elephants at one time. There's documented evidence of poachers literally sawing off animals tusks while they're still alive. Every 15 minutes, an elephant is killed for black market ivory. So we're proud to stand, as I said, with our with the other endorsing organizations. And thank you for your leadership council member Bagshaw and the rest of the Council for your resolution in support of this important initiative. Thank you.
Speaker 0: Thank you, Kirsten. And then Ryan Lerner.
Speaker 1: Good afternoon. Thank you. I'm Kristen Swartz, public affairs and advocacy manager for Woodland Park Zoo. And I'm here in support of Initiative 1401. At the zoo, we work hard to inspire our 1.2 million visitors and thousands of friends to care about the plight of animals facing extinction all over the world. You might think I have a happy job given most of my days are spent working for the survival of tigers, lions, elephants and leopards. And you would mostly be right. The work is incredibly rewarding. But then there are days that I have to come to terms with the brutal reality these animals face in the wild, truly struggling to survive in landscapes full of poachers, hunting them for their ivory tusks and horns, highly prized meat, or for traditional folk medicine that has been proven time and time again to not work. I won't get into the disturbing details of their deaths. Jennifer did that for me, but do know that, as she mentioned, these animals don't normally die in a peaceful or humane way. If poaching continues at the current rate, we as all humans everywhere will lose them forever. Many of these animals could disappear in our lifetimes. We at Woodland Park Zoo can't imagine a world without these iconic, beautiful and inspiring animals. And as scientists, we know that the future of the well-being of humankind is directly linked to the future of the well-being of animals, especially those listed in this initiative. This is why Woodland Park Zoo is so strongly in support of Washington State Initiative 1401, which, if passed, will strengthen penalties for people trafficking in endangered species products like elephant, ivory, rhino horn, or the meat of marine turtles and shark fins. By passing 1401, Washingtonians will be drawing a line in the sand and declaring that as a state, we will no longer stand aside and watch these animals be poached to extinction. So thank you for your leadership, Councilmember Bagshaw, and for the rest of City Council for joining us behind that line in the sand and fighting a good fight to save these animals. Your resolution of this support is very much appreciated. Thank you.
Speaker 0: Thank you, Ryan. Ryan will be followed by Frank Cobb.
Speaker 3: Hi. Brian Lechner, a volunteer at the Woodland Park Zoo. Hello. Council members and from myself and on behalf of all of the Woodland Park Zoo volunteers, I just want to extend tremendous gratitude for your support in this amazing, amazing legislation. This is a chance for us as a community to say no to a market that is profiting from the slaughter of endangered animals and is encouraging this at the expense of the ecosystems that these animals live in. It's setting a great example for the country, for the world. And it's this kind of progressive thinking and policymaking that I've come to love about this city. So there's just tremendous, tremendous thanks to you all for this groundbreaking legislation. Thank you.
Speaker 0: Thank you. Frank.
Speaker 2: I think it's hard not to agree with this proposition. I mean, the only thing I would disagree with is that they have to reintroduce animals that lost their parents. There was a documentary about this, Wolf, that was reintroduced to another pack because its mother was killed or something. And the the other wolves that immediately killed this new baby, wolf. And it was horrible to watch this line in this documentary, but there was really nothing they can do. My concern is just the broader picture of. The global warming issue of traffic and all this problem we have. I think this is kind of clouding part of the issue. I mean, I agree. There's just so much incredible amount of greed and all this other stuff going on. But we we are just totally we're going to be extinct the way things are going. And we see these things like Hurricane Patricia and, you know, the droughts we're having and and it's all about it comes down to, you know, are we clouding other issues? Are we are we distracting from other issues that are permanent? You know, we have a huge crisis on our hands with traffic. And I've been down here talking to you guys about the tunnel situation and my background in civil engineering that and I still think there's a quick fix that. I want to talk to you about that. But. I really don't want to talk to you until I get my problem fixed with the Pike Place Market. I'm a vendor down there and I got a letter for you. I'll give it to you. But I appreciate the fact that you guys do listen and I hope that you can resolve some of these other issues. But I just don't think it's a black and white issue there. You know, you have to the care of animals. I mean, even I was in Puerto Rico are not part of that. People are allowed to feed the animals in the zoo, in the animals loved. I'm out of time but animal.
Speaker 0: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Is there anyone else who would like to give comment on this resolution? Gary.
Speaker 3: So I got up here and console. I also want to throw my support on Resolution 1401. But I do remember one time when I was outside the city council chambers and I was had a plaque on the board against the window, and I was next to some guy who was from the Times who did article about homelessness . And I got my first and last page started. And there was a bunch of people in there. And the auditorium was Save the elephants serving elephants. And as far as I know, they are doing fine, I think, in Oklahoma City Zoo. But I do thank him as buckshot. I did talk to your aides last week about our goal. I do. I don't support this. Bertha and the underground tunnel. I know it's not the city's fault that that's being sued and there's going to be a delay in it. And also, in regards to earthquakes this morning that I heard. I was down in Southern California when there was a bunch of earthquakes. And I had I have known about the fact that. The earthquake fault runs right through there. As I mentioned, it's capable of producing a seven. What I'm going to be checking out is a place where my wife lives on Pine Borne to all of you apartments that says and may not be retrofitted. Because I was down there in 1971. Sylmar earthquake. Freeway had collapsed. And so I know a lot about that. And down there, they have a strike slip, earthquakes. And down here on the coast, you have the North American sliding under the want of food complaint and some late last week was tell me that was capable of producing a ten knot probably around nine. Thank you.
Speaker 0: Thanks, Gary. Anyone else? Thank you. Will close public comment. Do any council members want to share any comments on this resolution before we vote?
Speaker 1: Thank you. Thank you, everybody who came today.
Speaker 0: Yes, thank you to all of you. So we'll vote now on resolution 31625 as amended, those in favor of adopting the resolution vote I. I oppose vote no. The resolution is unanimously adopted in the chair. We'll sign it. Thank you. Adoption of other resolutions. Please. Please read item to.
A RESOLUTION endorsing Washington Animal Trafficking, Initiative 1401, on the ballot in Washington on November 3, 2015.