Hunters call for repeal of Massachusetts law that prohibits Sunday hunting

Roy “Butch” Blanchard has spent his Saturday trekking through the woods, and finally has an elusive big buck just within bowshot at 60 yards. The moment is perfect, the bowstring is taut — the deer need only move a little to the left for him to take the shot — it will be the first deer he’s taken during bowhunting season in three years.

It moves to the right — and the shot at the buck, and ending Blanchard’s three-year dry spell, is gone.

Disappointing? Perhaps. But, for Blanchard, it’s still a success.

“Every time I go on a hunt and see something, or learn something about their pattern, it’s a success,” said Blanchard. “That’s why it’s called hunting, not catching.”

After all, there’s always next Saturday.

Though there may be another day left in the weekend, Blanchard won't be able to try again until next week, as Massachusetts state law prohibits hunting on Sundays. It is one of the last remaining blue laws, such as what once governed the sale of tobacco and alcohol on Sundays, and there are growing calls from outdoorsmen saying the hunting prohibition should follow suit.

“It's one of the last blue laws on the books and (Massachusetts) is only one of three states in the entire country that you can't hunt on Sundays,” said Rick Levangie of Auburn, who has been hunting in the state for 25 years.

For the vast majority who work Monday through Friday, this essentially limits hunting to one day a week. "We’re not all lucky enough to have a job where we get Saturday off," said Blanchard, who works for the City of Worcester and often finds himself working on Saturday. This makes getting out into the woods difficult without cutting into paid time off and family time - all of which, he said, could be remedied by taking an outdated law off the books.

“It’s from the same era as no alcohol on Sundays,” said Blanchard, when many such laws had a distinct religious tilt.

Now, Blanchard added, people claim they can’t safely go for walks or hikes on trails if there are hunters out.

While there is no risk to public safety, said Levangie, lifting the Sunday ban should actually make non-hunters more at ease.

“Knowing Saturday may be the only day they can get in the woods, it gets busy,” said Levangie. “By allowing hunting on a Sunday this would spread out hunters over the course of two days and reduce the concentration of hunters in one area on a Saturday.”

Financial incentives in repeal

The state also has financial incentive to repeal the law, said Millbury resident Tom Scanlon, "adding Sundays for us will create more revenue for the state and the local businesses where we eat and purchase our supplies."

These safety concerns are less rooted in fact than cultural stigma, said Jim Hackett of Worcester.

Hackett is active on a number of community Facebook pages, and he posted a reminder on Monday about the opening day of shotgun season on deer. He didn't want community members to be alarmed by early-morning gunshots.

"One person responded with a comment that said to make sure that if you walk your dog off leash to put an orange vest on your dog because some hunters start at the bar before they hunt, and they will shoot anything that moves," Hackett recounted.

"The biggest challenge we face as hunters would hands down be public education," said Levangie, "Hunting plays a huge part in conservation and most people don't know that."

“People look at us like bloodthirsty killers," said Blanchard, "but we love wildlife. I love being in the woods and watching the woods wake up." Catching anything, he said, "is just icing on the cake. We do it to get out and be in the woods.”

What many don't realize, he said, is that hunting is rooted in a deep respect for nature and the animals. Most hunters don't take the first shot available, choosing to wait for what Blanchard called "an ethical shot," that will minimize suffering rather than prolong it.

Finally, there's also simple practicality. It's well known the state deer population has skyrocketed, surpassing 95,000 as of Nov. 1, according to the state Division of Fisheries and Wildlife.

"The herd needs to be managed and hunting is an effective means to do so," said Levangie.

Appropriately managing the population will help combat the increase in Lyme disease cases spread from the deer tick as well as reduce vehicle collisions. Ensuring more people understand this, said Levangie, is the way to affect policy change, more than lobbying state government.

"Educating the public would change far more than local regulation ever could," he said.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Local hunters call for repeal of Massachusetts ban in Sunday hunting