Fish and Game Commissioner Tom O’Shea said the Healey administration has heard “an enthusiastic interest” in lifting the outright ban on Sunday hunting that’s been in place for centuries, an idea already scuttled by a legislative committee this session.
The state’s Sunday hunting ban is more than 200 years old, the administration said, and was rooted in the Puritanical blue laws that once governed Massachusetts. Only Massachusetts and Maine still have outright Sunday hunting bans, and the idea of lifting it here has been debated for at least 35 years without any change.
But based on an overabundance of deer (particularly in Southeastern Mass. and the islands) and the public health and safety problems that can result from an overpopulation of deer, O’Shea said the Division of Fisheries & Wildlife put questions about expanding access to hunting out to the public at listening sessions and with a comment period this winter. The administration asked about the Sunday hunting ban, the prohibition against crossbows for hunting and the distance hunters must keep between themselves and any buildings or roads.
“We heard really overwhelmingly from over 10,000 people and organizations that they were really interested and happy that we were bringing these questions up about hunting and access. In particular, Sunday hunting, we heard support and majority support for considering, the Legislature considering opening Sundays to hunting,” O’Shea told the Joint Ways and Means Committee at its budget hearing in Amherst on Tuesday. He added, “For our agency, over 10,000 public comments is really quite an enthusiastic interest.”
Altering the Sunday hunting ban is the subject of legislation this session, nearly all of which has been sent to dead-end studies by the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources. Those bills include S 576 from Sen. Peter Durant, H 941 from Rep. Paul Frost, H 993 from Rep. Marc Lombardo and H 1016 from Rep. Kelly Pease.
Two other bills, H 1057 from Rep. Alyson Sullivan-Almeida and H 1065 from Rep. David Vieira, have not formally been reported out. The committee did not report on either bill by their deadlines, according to the clerk’s office. Under House rules, Chairwoman Rep. Christine Barber is supposed to send the bills to a study, but that has not yet occurred.
Gov. Maura Healey voiced support for expanded hunting in a January announcement of MassWildlife’s listening sessions, though she did not explicitly back any one proposal.
“Hunting has always been woven into Massachusetts’ history – supporting families, boosting local economies, and helping keep our deer populations healthy,” Healey said. “Expanding opportunities for hunters will carry that tradition forward while protecting public health and ensuring we’re maintaining balance in our wildlife populations.”
When legislation to lift the ban got a public hearing in 2023, opposition testimony greatly outweighed support. The Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals opposes legislation to lift the Sunday hunting ban this session.
“Given the protection and relief that the Sunday hunting ban provides to the more than 99% of Massachusetts residents who do not hunt, we urge upholding the Sunday hunting ban,” the organization said. “It is entirely reasonable for a state as densely populated as Massachusetts to uphold a law that allows non-consumptive nature users to enjoy our natural resources with their families, friends, and companion animals without risking conflicts with hunting activity.”
Other statutory changes the Healey administration floated for feedback this winter included changes to the ban on crossbow hunting and the setback limits hunters must adhere to.
Only hunters with a permanent disability are currently allowed to hunt with crossbows, which require less physical strength to use than traditional or compound bows. The Healey administration said other New England states have recently changed their laws to allow crossbows for deer hunting.
Another hunting-related change that would require legislative action is the reduction of the buffer area between roads or buildings and hunting zones. Massachusetts law prohibits hunting within 500 feet of a dwelling or a building in use and within 150 feet of a road. The Healey administration said other states in the region “have less restrictive setbacks for archery hunting than Massachusetts.”
During the same hearing Tuesday, Rep. Todd Smola of Warren raised issues related to access for boating and fishing around the Quabbin Reservoir with Department of Conservation and Recreation Commissioner Nicole LaChapelle.
A salmon fisherman, Smola said the entire Quabbin area delegation is concerned about Pottapaug Pond in Hardwick and O’Loughlin Pond in New Salem, both of which were closed to to all boating for the 2025 season due to a floating aquatic invasive species called swollen bladderwort. DCR had said it was working on an access plan for 2026 and beyond.
“Recreational access — fishing and access to areas on the Quabbin — was part of the deal when those communities were disincorporated,” Smola said, referring to the four communities that were flooded to create a water resource for Boston. He added, “If you need more resources, I’d like to see that proposed as part of the budget. Because this isn’t just a tiny, old water body like thousands of others in the commonwealth of Massachusetts. This is the water body in Massachusetts.”
LaChapelle, the former mayor of Easthampton, said she understands that lawmakers are expecting an access plan and pledged that it would be ready soon. But she also told Smola that he should prepare for “some hard conversations” once the plan is out.
“We now have more data of the last three years of our efforts to eradicate and, honestly, to level set what can and can’t be done. We are now putting together that access plan. We are a few weeks behind,” she said. “But looking forward to meeting with the delegation around those issues, around access, what is feasible, but also a plan that has money to it — and I don’t have an amount for you. And but also I would want to be very plain that interventions and what we are are looking at in these two ponds also come with a high priority of clean drinking water … I’m not going to sugarcoat it, there’s some hard conversations coming up around this plan.”