Anne Arundel County recently announced a $50 cash payment to any hunter who legally harvested a deer and donated it to one of the County’s food banks. The source of funding is a share of the County’s federal COVID payment. When the Hunters of Maryland learned of this Program – effective November 1, 2020 – we sounded the alarm. How can it be legal to use public dollars to harvest a publicly-owned resource, aka Public Trust Doctrine? Inquiries were made to the Attorney General, et al, and the result of our efforts is reflected in the statement dated today from DNR’s Secretary Haddaway-Ricco to the County Executive of Anne Arundel County (shown below). In short, it is illegal to harvest deer for money.
One could surmise the next step would be for proponents to pursue legislation authorizing such a practice during the 2021 Session of the Maryland General Assembly. If introduced, the Hunters of Maryland will vehemently oppose the legislation in the court of public opinion.
