Keep Sunday Free From Hunting

To the Editor:

Legislation is progressing through the state legislature that will have dangerous consequences for Fairfield County residents. It is SB-605, An Act Concerning Limited Hunting on Sunday (on private property with the owner’s permission). Sunday hunting has always been illegal in Connecticut but this could soon change.

Right now, the bill is intended to allow the killing of more deer through bow hunting. It will mean an extra 20 days for hunters during the regular bow hunting season.

Bow hunting is unsafe and barbaric because:

1. There is no minimum acreage requirement. There is no required setback from homes and property lines.

2. Notification of neighbors is not required.

3. It is done from tree stands under which deer have been lured with food.

4. Deer are not always killed instantly — many die in agony by bleeding out over many hours. There is a 50 percent wounding rate, allowing animals to run with arrows in them.

5. If a deer dies on your property, you will have to pay for the removal of the carcass, unless you drag it to the curb.

It is your right, being in the 99 percent majority of Connecticut residents who do not hunt, to know that you, your family, friends, and pets can enjoy at least one day — Sunday — without fear of hunters on your neighbor’s property.

Call, write, or email your own state senator and representative. Ask them to protect your rights and concerns as a resident and to vote No to Sunday hunting. To find your legislators see the blue pages of your telephone book or go to www.cga.ct.gov/maps/townlist.asp.

For information about nonlethal deer management methods see the No Arrows or Bullets website, www.ct-nab.info.

Mike Gorfinkle

CT-NAB (No Arrows or Bullets)

PO Box 101, Ridgefield                                            March 27, 2006