Back in March, Gov. Maura Healey announced in the middle of an East Falmouth wildlife management area that she planned to file legislation in a budget bill to modernize hunting laws that currently limit access to the sport across the state.
But a revised version of that supplemental budget passed by the State House of Representatives last Wednesday, which now goes to the State Senate for consideration in the coming weeks, didn’t include the provisions on hunting.
State Sen. Julian Cyr said he can’t speak to why the House didn’t include the provisions, but said there are other options. “We’ve heard loud and clear, especially from Vineyarders, that we need some more options for hunting to control the deer population on the Island, so we’re taking a look at those,” Cyr said.
Included in the initial bill were provisions on hunting, such as reversing what Healey called Puritan blue laws that prohibit hunting on Sundays, expanding crossbow access to anyone, and reducing the setback limit, or distance from a dwelling, for bowhunting — from 500 to 250 feet — to open up thousands of acres of land to the sport.
These provisions were supported by Healey for a multitude of reasons, especially because an overabundant deer population contributes to increases in tick-borne conditions, agriculture loss, and vehicle collisions.
“A lot has changed in our country over the past 250 years, and it’s time for our hunting laws to get an update too,” Healey said in a statement to The Times. “The Sunday hunting ban doesn’t make sense. Many people today are working six-day weeks, and Sunday is their only chance to hunt. This is a real economic issue for our families, and a matter of fairness. Hunting, along with fishing, is an important source of food for people and local food banks. Hunting is also critical for wildlife management, including to address the serious public health threat of ticks. I’m going to keep working with the legislature to get this done.”
Cyr said that either the Senate could include the provisions in their bill, or what he called the “policy riders” could be taken up in a “different vehicle,” not the supplemental budget.