HUNTING; LEGISLATION;

FISH AND GAME;

You wanted to know about bills proposed in recent years to end the ban on Sunday hunting, whether Sunday hunting is allowed in neighboring states, and on how many Sundays hunting would be allowed during the various current hunting seasons.

NUMBER OF BILLS PROPOSED TO LEGALIZE SUNDAY HUNTING

Legislators have proposed 12 bills since 1991 to completely or partially legalize Sunday hunting. The bills were referred to the Environment Committee, which held public hearings on two of them, and reported none favorably. Of these 12 bills, four were introduced in 2003. We have attached copies of the bills.

SUNDAY HUNTING IN NEIGHBORING STATES

Sunday hunting is banned in Massachusetts (Mass. Gen. Laws Ch. 131, § 57), but not in New York or Rhode Island. However, according to the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, Sunday hunting may be banned by local ordinance.

SUNDAY HUNTING IN CONNECTICUT

Connecticut does not allow Sunday hunting (CGS § 26-73). However, the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has been considering how a law allowing Sunday hunting may be used to control the state’s rapidly increasing deer population. DEP’s Ed Parker says DEP is studying Sunday hunting for deer on private land only. The department does not believe Sunday hunting is necessary to control the small game or turkey populations at this time. But Parker said DEP may consider Sunday hunting for turkey, depending on how a recently increased bag limit affects the turkey harvest.

DEP divides the state into 12 deer management zones for hunting purposes (please see attached map). DEP allows a longer hunting season in those zones with greater concentrations of deer. If the legislature were to approve Sunday hunting, hunters in those zones would therefore be able to hunt on more Sundays than hunters in other zones.

For example, bowhunters in most regions would be allowed to hunt deer on 12 Sundays. But bowhunters in zones 11 and 12 (central shoreline and Fairfield County), who have a longer season, would be able to hunt on 19 Sundays. Parker says DEP also would favor Sunday hunting for muzzleloading season, and for rifle and shotgun hunters in zones 6, 7, 11 and 12, where large deer populations warrant it.

It is possible that allowing an additional hunting day each week during a hunting season might result in a shorter overall season. Parker said this would depend on the number of people who would hunt on Sunday, and the number of animals they kill. He says DEP is not considering shortening the hunting season at this point.

NUMBER OF SUNDAYS THAT HUNTING WOULD BE ALLOWED UNDER EXISTING HUNTING SEASONS

We list below the number of Sundays in various hunting seasons in 2003. We list deer and turkey hunting separately because the season varies based on the types of weapons used and types of property where hunting takes place. Please note that many of the seasons overlap, so that Sundays added to the deer bowhunting season, for example, would include many of the same Sundays counted towards the deer rifle/shotgun season. For more information about hunting and a complete list of hunting seasons, please see the Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) Hunting and Trapping Guide (http: //dep. state. ct. us/burnatr/wildlife/pdf/fg2003. pdf).

TYPE OF GAME│NUMBER OF SUNDAYS IN 2003 HUNTING SEASON

SMALL GAME

TURKEY

DEER

**season extends through January of following year.

Shotgun

Shotgun/Rifle

*DEP is not considering Sunday hunting on state-owned land at this time.

MIGRATORY BIRDS

Please see the Migratory Bird Hunting Guide (2003-2004 Migratory Bird Hunting Guide) for information on the number of Sundays in the hunting seasons for such birds as woodcock, snipe, ducks, mergansers, geese and coots. DEP’s Parker says he sees no benefit to Sunday hunting for these birds.

FURTHER INFORMATION

More information on the history of Sunday hunting can be found in OLR Report 97-R-0666. More information on Sunday hunting restrictions in other states is available in OLR Report 2000-R-0998.

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