SEATTLE — Supporters of an initiative to help protect endangered animals that are being poached or exploited say they’ve collected enough signatures to get their proposal on the November ballot.
The Initiative 1401 Campaign held a press conference at the Seattle Aquarium on Wednesday to announce that they are turning in 348,627 signatures to the state Elections Office. That’s 100,000 more than they needed to qualify for the ballot.
The initiative aims to strengthen Washington’s penalties for selling or buying products made from endangered animals. The list of threatened species includes elephants, rhinos, lions, tigers, leopards, cheetahs, marine turtles and shark.
The effort is supported by philanthropist Paul Allen and Vulcan Inc., the Humane Society and the Woodland Park Zoo.
Washington lawmakers considered a similar measure earlier this year, but it failed.
