Updated Feb. 5
As the tick crisis continues on the Vineyard, a group of Islanders traveled to the mainland this week to urge state officials to expand hunting accessibility in order to help deal with deer overpopulation and tick-borne diseases.
At a listening session held by the state Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (MassWildlife) at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy in Bourne on Monday, Feb. 2, several Vineyarders came to speak in favor of potential changes to hunting laws.
For the Vineyard, which has one of the highest deer densities in the state, the primary concern is the proliferation of ticks, which feed on deer and other mammals.
“Deer are the primary reproductive hosts of ticks, and the high deer densities on Martha’s Vineyard are contributing to the tick overabundance that is driving the health crisis,” Virginia Barbatti, executive director of the new nonprofit Tick Free Martha’s Vineyard (Tick Free MV), said.
State officials are looking at the possibility of changing three statutory limitations, all of which would need legislative action to change. These include the allowance of hunting on Sundays, a reduction of the setback limits for hunters that is currently regulated at 500 feet from a dwelling or building and 150 feet from a road, and the expansion of crossbow use to include not only those with a permanent disability.
During the listening session, Eve Schlüter, acting director of MassWildlife, noted how much more restrictive the states’ laws are compared with its neighbors. Schlüter said that the prohibition on Sunday hunting is a 19th century law, and that Massachusetts, alongside Maine, is one of two states that still practice an outright ban. Meanwhile, she said only around 15 percent of Massachusetts hunters have crossbow permits, and several Northeast states recently changed laws to allow crossbows for more seasons.
Schlüter also highlighted how far away the setbacks are, comparing the 150-foot setback from roads to the height of the Statue of Liberty and the 500-foot setbacks from buildings to the length of seven semi-trailer trucks. In New Jersey, the state most densely populated (by people), the setback limit from buildings is 150 feet.
The proposed changes follow extensions to the hunting season for shotgun and primitive firearms users that the state approved as a measure to deal with deer overpopulation and ticks. In December, State Sen. Julian Cyr and State Rep. Thomas Moakley came to the Island to share their support of expanding hunting accessibility to protect communities. A high deer density not only helps spread ticks but contributes to coastal erosion and habitat loss for other species.
Barbatti told MassWildlife officials that the Island has the highest rate of tick-borne conditions in the state, which has risen by alarming rates, and that the amended hunting regulations would help tackle the issue.
“Like many communities in New England, we’ve been living with the sometimes-devastating impacts of Lyme and other tick-borne diseases for far too long,” Barbatti said. “On top of that, we are now experiencing the explosion of alpha-gal syndrome, a potentially life-threatening allergy to red meat and dairy, resulting from tick bites.”
There are other Vineyard efforts to get ahead of ticks, including one by Tick Free MV to do drone surveillance of deer on the Island, anticipated to start on Feb. 15 for a three-week period.
Other Island experts at the listening sessions echoed support of the proposed expansions for hunting.
“I think the proposed changes will modernize deer management, which in the end will benefit food-insecurity issues on the Island as well as advance our public-health goals for tick-borne illnesses,” said Patrick Roden-Reynolds, a biologist who leads the Martha’s Vineyard Tick Program.
Bret Stearns, director of natural resources for the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah), said safe hunting measures can be easily taught in a classroom setting, and changes to hunting access is an important way to “gain control” of tick-borne diseases.
Stearns told the Times that the Vineyard sees more emergency room visits related to tick-borne illnesses than other parts of the state.
Lea Hamner, the epidemiologist who studies tick-borne illnesses on the Cape and Islands and who spoke as an individual, highlighted that many people have been impacted by tick-borne conditions like Lyme and alpha-gal syndrome on the Island.
“I also overhear the misery in the grocery store, in the Post Office, over a meal,” Hamner said. “We talk about Lyme disease, about alpha-gal syndrome, about Powassan virus. We have nine diseases and allergies caused by ticks, and these ticks thrive on overabundant deer.”
In Bourne, roughly 75 people came from across the state, from Martha’s Vineyard to Pittsfield, and most of them were in favor of the expansion of hunting accessibility. The event was part of a series of listening sessions held by MassWildlife, the first of which was held virtually and hosted 500 attendees, according to a division official. Some Vineyard hunters joined in that session to express support for the changes to the hunting regulation.
At the Maritime Academy, supporters of the changes said that the proposals would allow more people to hunt, and would protect agriculture, prevent the spread of ticks, and potentially bring more revenue to the state by dissuading residents from traveling to neighboring states, like Rhode Island, with less restrictive regulations.
A small number of property owners and nature enthusiasts objected to the potential changes, saying the current laws were sufficient, and worried about safety issues that might arise with allowing hunters closer to roadways.
State Rep. Steven Xiarhos, a Barnstable Republican, called on attendees to send emails to their legislators to share their thoughts about the possible changes to hunting laws. “They need to listen to you; that’s their job,” Xiarhos said. “And a copy-and-paste email is not as good as a personal email.”
Those who missed the sessions can still provide feedback through an online form or by mail to Attn: Hunting Laws, 1 Rabbit Hill Road, Westborough, MA 01581 by 5 pm on Friday, Feb. 6.
Editor’s note: A statistic about the emergency room visits related to tick-borne illnesses was removed for uncertainty.
