SB 5960 UPDATE, Feb 2, 2026: During the Senate Agriculture Committee executive session at 1:30 p.m (Feb. 2), Ranking Member Sen. Short proposed a substitute bill with various amendments, but action on the bill was deferred, meaning the bill will not progress this session!
HB 2221 UPDATE, Jan 30, 2026: The House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee had a hearing on HB 2221 on 1/30. At the end of that hearing, Chair Reeves stated that, after conferring with a bill sponsor, they had decided to remove the bill from next week’s executive session, meaning the bill will not progress this session!
Next Monday, Feb. 2 at 1:30 p.m., the WA Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee will hold a hearing on SB 5960, a bill that uses a false pretext to scapegoat wild predators for imagined concerns.
SB 5960/HB 2221 repeats a familiar and discredited playbook: blaming wolves and other carnivores for any changes in deer and elk populations, despite clear scientific evidence to the contrary. Even worse, this legislation proposes indiscriminately killing state endangered wolves, cougars, and other predators—a “solution” that would hurt both ungulate and carnivore populations, as well as potentially endangering people.
Wildlife advocates strongly opposed SB 5960 during its hearing before the Senate Ag Committee on Jan. 19. Before committee members vote on this bill on Feb. 2, we need to make sure they know the facts:
- Washington’s wildlife scientists have repeatedly found that deer and elk populations are generally stable and that wolves are not driving population trends. In fact, these were the findings of a recent five-year study commissioned by the legislature.
- Decades of research show that killing carnivores does not lead to sustained improvements in deer, elk, and other ungulate populations.
- To the contrary, predators play integral roles in maintaining ungulate population health and human safety. They mitigate the spread of chronic wasting disease, identified in Washington for the first time last year, and even prevent vehicle-wildlife collisions that kill deer and endanger people.
- If legislators really want to help all wildlife, including both ungulates and carnivores, they need to focus on measures to protect habitat from human-caused destruction and degradation.
Take Action to Oppose SB 5960 before Feb. 2:
2. Contact your senator IF they sit on the Senate Agriculture Committee
At this time, we are only asking constituents of Senate Agriculture Committee members to take action. These legislators need to hear directly from their constituents why SB 5960 must be rejected.
Use our talking points to craft your message and call and/or email your senator if they are one of the following people who sit on the committee:
- Committee Chair Mike Chapman (D-24) – mike.chapman@leg.wa.gov / 360-786-7646
- Vice Chair Deborah Krishnadasan (D-6) – deborah.krishnadasan@leg.wa.
gov / 360-786-7650 - Ranking Member Shelly Short (R-7) – shelly.short@leg.wa.gov / 360-786-7612
- Marko Liias (D-21) – marko.liias@leg.wa.gov / 360-786-7640
- Ron Muzzall (R-10) – ron.muzzall@leg.wa.gov / 360-786-7618
- Rebecca Saldaña (D-37) – rebecca.saldana@leg.wa.gov / 360-786-7688
- Mark Schoesler (R-9) – mark.schoesler@leg.wa.gov / 360-786-7620
- Sharon Shewmake (D-42) – sharon.shewmake@leg.wa.gov / 360-786-1909
- Keith Wagoner (R-39) – keith.wagoner@leg.wa.gov / 360-786-7676
Not sure who your senator is? Use the district finder tool.
Washington can, and must, do better than blaming predators for problems that we caused, and only we can solve. Reject SB 5960 and stand for science-based, ethical wildlife policy that protects ecosystems, respects wildlife, and addresses the real causes of declines.
Please stay tuned! If SB 5960 is voted out of committee, we will need your help to stop it!
Review Bill and Latest Status Here