Hunting and fishing in Maryland will soon no longer be considered privileges, but Rights under State law.
The 2021 General Assembly did the unthinkable. It debated and concurred to bestow the right to hunt and fish on its citizenry as evidenced by its passage of Senate Bill 318/House Bill 1134 in the final hours of the 2021 Session, aka Sine Die on April 12, 2021. Enactment into law now awaits the Governor’s signature which is expected.
http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2021RS/bills/sb/sb0318T.pdf
Space and time constraints preclude a detailed accounting of the legislative battles waged in securing passage during the 90-day Session. Suffice to say it was not pretty. The Hunters of Maryland (HOM) did ultimately unmask, however, the anti-hunting element within and outside the General Assembly. And this element is alive and well. For Maryland’s hunting community to think otherwise would be to its peril. These individuals, groups and organizations are well organized and deep pocketed. They tried frantically to defeat the measure at the 11th hour with drastic tactics but to no avail. It was a landmark victory for all those who hunt and fish in Maryland…an everlasting legacy.
Two questions come to mind: (1) what arguments were given in favor; and (2) what does such recognition mean? The former is explained in the attached testimony from HOM and the bi-partisan Maryland Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus and the latter simply means lawmakers acknowledge that hunting and fishing are deemed worthy of an elevated status in the eyes of the public. In essence, a statutory right found outside the Declaration of Rights enumerated by Maryland’s Constitution.
WHAT ELSE DID HOM ACCOMPLISH-OR FAIL TO ACCOMPLISH-THIS SESSION ON BEHALF OF MARYLAND’S HUNTING COMMUNITY?
Defeat of the Required Criminal Background Check on Purchasing Ammunition: House Bill 175 would have required a NICS Index background check on the purchaser of any ammunition within the State of Maryland. The NICS Index, which was established under the federal Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act of 1993, is a national system that checks available records on persons who may be disqualified from receiving firearms under federal or state law. Under federal law, federal firearms licensees may initiate a NICS background check only in connection with a proposed firearm transfer; they are strictly prohibited from initiating a NICS background check for any other purpose.
http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2021RS/bills/hb/hb0175F.pdf
Defeat of Restricted Access to Firearms by Minors: House Bill 200 would have prohibited access to a firearm by a minor, defined as someone under the age of 18. Enactment would have ended anyone under the age of 18 from hunting with a firearm.
http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2021RS/bills/hb/hb0200F.pdf
Defeat of the Commercialization of Venison: A long-term goal of the agriculture community is the commercialization of venison as an alternative means of curtailing Maryland’s deer population. In 2015, legislation was considered by the General Assembly to authorize such commercialization and it failed. However, the hunting community has stood alone in opposing the sale of coveted and finite wildlife for remuneration purposes. It re-surfaced during the 2021 Session via House Bill 594.
http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2021RS/bills/hb/hb0594F.pdf
Imagine returning to the dark days of market hunting in Maryland. What would happen? Poaching, black markets and the extirpation of wildlife owned by the citiznery. And, who led the effort this year with the underlying support of the agricultural community? Surprisingly, it was the Montgomery County Legislative Delegation. Officials there have grown tiresome of purported failed efforts by DNR to help them curb the growing population of deer there. Figuring such a proposal would trigger DNR to commit to a strategy to help them, the legislation was submitted. And, it worked. DNR committed, in writing, to a year-long statewide study – along with stakeholder reps – of creative ways to thin Maryland’s deer herd so the proposal was withdrawn. Clearly to HOM, this would have kept the venison commercialization dream alive for the agricultural community.
Without delving into all the sorted details, the issue was put to rest – with a strategy put forth by HOM – with the adoption of budget language, via the Budget Bill shown below. This means that DNR will study the deer population issue ONLY in Montgomery County, not a statewide study. Consequently, the possibility of statutory approval of a venison commercialization program emanating from this restricted study is minimized. This does not mean, however, the agricultural community will not try again. And, when they do, the agriculture community and the General Assembly have been put on notice that HOM will oppose them then too.
KOOA
Department of Natural Resources
Committee Narrative
WILDLIFE AND HERITAGE SERVICE
K00A03.01 Wildlife and Heritage Service
Montgomery County Enhanced Deer Management Strategy: The budget committees are concerned that Montgomery County is experiencing uncontrollable deer population growth and that existing methods of lawfully mitigating the detrimental impact of this growth have proven ineffective. Therefore, the budget committees request that the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), in cooperation with and approval by Montgomery County officials, develop an enhanced deer management strategy to reduce the Montgomery County deer population by a measurable amount. The report shall be submitted by November 1, 2021.
Approved Study of Maryland’s Coyote Population: Unlike the 2020 Session of the Maryland General Assembly, the 2021 General Assembly approved legislation banning organized killing contests for prizes or monetary awards, aka coyotes, foxes, and raccoons. The rationale for this bill – per the animal rights groups – was akin to the prohibition on killing cownose rays for prizes and monetary awards enacted by the 2019 General Assembly. They called these contests “barbaric”.
http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2021RS/bills/hb/hb0293e.pdf
Realizing the court of public opinion clearly opposes the practice of killing animals for prizes/monetary awards – which HOM truly understands and appreciates as evidenced by our opposition to the killing of deer for remuneration purposes – the fact Maryland has a coyote population problem requires a different kind of strategy. And, this strategy was supported via the adoption of budget language – not unlike that shown below re the Montgomery County enhanced deer management strategy – which reads as follows:
KOOA
Department of Natural Resources
Committee Narrative
WILDLIFE AND HERITAGE SERVICE
K00A03.01 Wildlife and Heritage Service
Impact Assessment Study of Maryland’s Coyote Population: The budget committees are concerned that the coyote has fully colonized Maryland and that the coyote population is threatening both domestic and wild animals as well as public health, safety, and welfare. Therefore, the budget committees request that the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), in cooperation with stakeholder groups, conduct an impact assessment study of Maryland’s coyote population and report on the findings. The study shall include the following: an assessment of the coyote population statewide in terms of range and subspecies, including fertile hybrids; a determination of the socioeconomic impact of unchecked growth in the coyote population; and identification of strategies and policies to control coyote population growth and mitigate attendant ecological impacts. The report shall be submitted by December 1, 2021.
Annual Report to the Comptroller re Income Tax Credits Claimed for Processing Costs re Deer Harvested and Donated to the Needy/Mandated DNR Report on Chronic Wasting Disease: This bill requires a venison donation program to report annually to the Comptroller by January 31 of each year the name, address, and number of deer donated by individuals in the preceding tax year. The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) must report to the General Assembly by December 31, 2021, on the testing of deer brought to deer processors for chronic wasting disease. The bill takes effect July 1, 2021, and applies to tax year 2021 and beyond.
NOTE: Until 2023, hunters who harvest deer and donate to bona fide charitable organizations – aka, Farmers & Hunters Feeding the Hungry – are eligible for $50 per deer, not to exceed 4 deer capping at $200 for the taxable year, to offset the costs for processing pursuant to legislation enacted in 2018.
http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2021RS/bills/hb/hb1017T.pdf
Failure to Secure Passage of Restricted Harvesting of Resident Canada Geese: This emergency bill would have required that during the migratory Canada goose (Atlantic population) hunting season, the bag limit for all Canada geese harvested in Maryland, including geese found in the Atlantic Flyway Resident Population Hunt Zone and the Atlantic Population Hunt Zone, must conform to the bag limit set for Atlantic population Canada geese that is adopted annually by the Department of the Interior’s U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). The intent of the proposed Act was to safeguard against the inadvertent harvesting of migratory birds (“AP” Atlantic Population of Canada Geese) mingled with resident birds. This was viewed as a conservation measure intended to help return AP breeding pairs to their Canadian breeding grounds in view of the depressed AP season of what will be 3 consecutive seasons of 1 bird for 30 days in 2021/2022…in contrast to a daily bag limit of 5 resident geese during a 3-way split season encompassing parts of September, November and December through March.
http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2021RS/bills/sb/sb0899F.pdf
IN CLOSING, it is important to note the 2021 Session was dominated by social justice and climate related issues. It is truly a borderline miracle anything else passed at all. Suffice to say the Hunters of Maryland were successful beyond measure. Securing one’s legal right to fish and hunt in Maryland – deepest of blue states – coupled with stopping commercialization of venison through protecting hunting opportunities and studying deer/coyote impact issues are achievements not envisioned by many within Maryland’s hunting community. The Hunters of Maryland take pride in having helped lead approval of pro-hunting issues and defeat of anti-hunting issues, respectively. And it took daily vigilance by HOM every day for the 90-day period starting on January 13, 2021 through April 12, 2021.
A final note about local Sunday hunting issues. There were several local Sunday hunting bills – bills, except one, that would have expanded upon existing Sunday hunting opportunities in certain counties – that passed the House but failed in the Senate. The one exception was the Prince George’s Sunday hunting bill (shown below) which also passed the House but failed in the Senate. Enactment would have allowed Sunday hunting there for the first time since 1783 – Prince George’s, Baltimore and Howard counties are the only 3 remaining counties in Maryland which still prohibit Sunday hunting of any kind.
Since 2003, all local Sunday hunting bills have been introduced by and supported by the respective jurisdictions having secured local input and approval via their local governing bodies over a 9-month period. The single, most visible opponent to these expanded local Sunday hunting bills is the equine community. Looking forward the Hunters of Maryland believe that – despite the 2021 Session was borderline hostile on so many fronts, including hunting – those local Sunday bills having failed this Session will secure enactment in the future, starting with the 2022 General Assembly. And, the Hunters of Maryland will intervene to the extent so requested by the sponsors of future local Sunday hunting bills.
http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2021RS/bills/hb/hb0615T.pdf
