Sunday Bow Hunting is in the Home Stretch!!!!!!

All that is needed is one final push and bow hunting on Sunday will become a reality here in NJ. The last five years have seen a lot of hard work getting this legislation to the point where it is today, the desk of Governor Jon Corzine. Now we just need you to step up one more time to let the Governor know how important this legislation is to you and how much you would like him to support it by signing it into law.

The battle has not been an easy one, but it has certainly been well worth it. Anti-hunting and animal rights radicals have done everything they could to try to derail our efforts to move the Sunday Bow hunting bills through the legislative process and have been unsuccessful at every turn.

They have formed powerful alliances with National Organizations such as the Sierre Club and the HSUS, they have bombarded our representatives with emails, faxes, phone calls and letters from all across the country. They have tried deception, misinformation, fear mongering, and all out blatant lies. They have sent representative to testify falsely and even venomously at legislative committee meetings. I have personally watched them at these hearings falsely inflate the numbers they allegedly represent, while at the same time trying to dismiss hunters numbers as insignificant. 

Each time we have called, you have risen to the challenge and reached out to your representatives and to the committee members, and you didn’t stop there; you rallied support from your friends, your family, and your non-hunter acquaintances as well. One of the most inspiring aspects of this process has been the transformation of so many hunters, anglers, and outdoorsmen into outdoors activists. Most of us would prefer to be afield enjoying the outdoors with our families, instead of having to become an activist just to defend and promote those freedoms and traditions we hold so dear. Yet each day we see more and more of you stepping up and asking “how can I help” or “what can I do”.  

Perhaps it was the relentlessly oppressive foot, of the animal rights radicals, so firmly placed on the throats of us sportsmen that finally made it just too hard to breath. Maybe it was the outrageously ridiculous way that those same individuals portray us. It might also be that we had just finally had enough and it was time to show the public the conservationist face of the hunting, fishing, and trapping outdoorsmen. No matter what the cause, more and more of us are becoming involved in the political process, and more importantly we are taking the time to educate our legislators and the general public. We are conveying to them just who we are, what we do, and how many benefits we bring to the community and the environment. 

A coalition of Sportsmen’s groups including the UBNJ, the NJOA, the NJSFSC, and the JCAA, along with farmers and other conservationists have gone to great lengths to refute the vast amounts of misinformation and scare tactics being put out by those opposing the Sunday Bow Hunting legislation. At the same time the members of our coalition point out the true merits and fairness of the bills. Some of the key points for justification of Sunday Bow Hunting are listed below.  

Key Points:

• The Sunday Bow hunting Legislation only applies to private lands and State WMA’s
• State WMA’s were purchased mainly with funds from the hunters  and anglers fund and are maintained solely with monies from that same fund as well as boat ramp permit fees. The stated purpose for WMA’s is for wildlife related recreation and species management.
• Sunday bow hunting will be another tool for the effective management and conservation of New Jersey’s White-tailed deer herd. Most hunters work during the week and can only hunt on weekends, increasing the amount of time the majority of hunters can spend in the woods will increase their effectiveness at harvesting deer.
• Sunday Bow hunting will increase revenue and commerce in our State simply because hunters will have additional days to be spending money on their sport. Sunday bow hunting will also most likely draw in hunters from other States as an additional source of revenue and positive economic impact.
• There is no noise associated with bow hunting so there will be no impact to quality of life.
• The “Non-hunters need just one day a week argument…” is smoke and mirrors. Non-hunters already have seven days a week when they can use WMA’s and private lands for activities other than hunting. It is the hunters who are being prevented from full use opportunities by not being able to hunt on Sundays.
• New Jersey is one of only seven States that do not allow hunting on Sunday.
• In States where hunting is legal on Sunday, hunters and non-hunters coexist peacefully and safely on all types of lands, including State and County parks.
• Because of the nature of bow hunting itself, the likelihood for a bow hunter to have the opportunity to harvest an deer while other non-hunters are in the immediate area is virtually no-existent. Even deer accustomed to the presence of humans will wait until people leave the area before they continue about their normal activities.

These are just a few things to keep in mind when discussing the Sunday Bow hunting topic with a legislator or non-hunter.

Take a few minutes now to Contact Governor Jon Corzine and tell him that you support  Sunday Bow Hunting, that it is good for New Jersey, and that you ask that he sign it into law. Have your friends and family call and have any non-hunters that you know also reach out to let the Governor know that they support Sunday Bow Hunting as well.

Contact the Governor at via email at 

http://www.state.nj.us/governor/about/contact/

or call him at: 609-292-6000,

or write him at:

The Honorable Jon S. Corzine
Governor, State of New Jersey
Office of the Governor
PO Box 001
Trenton, NJ 08625