House Bill 243, introduced by State Representative Steve Adams (R-Windsor-4), was passed out of the Senate Natural Resources and Energy Committee by a vote of 4-1. The bill now heads to the Senate Finance Committee for consideration.
Hunter recruitment is critical to the long-term preservation of our hunting heritage. Hunter numbers are declining and radical anti-hunting organizations like the Humane Society of the United States are doing everything they can to prevent people from hunting. For every 100 hunters who permanently quit hunting, only 77 replace them. This slide must be reversed and H. 243 will help in this effort.
H. 243 would establish a mentored hunting license that would allow prospective hunters to try their hand at hunting before being compelled to complete a hunter education course. Apprentice hunters would have to be directly supervised in the field by a mentor who is at least 21 years-old and who holds a valid hunting license. Experience in more than two-dozen other states with these laws shows that this kind of mentored hunting programs are exceptionally safe and will bring many new hunters into the field. There is no reason to believe that the citizens of
Research shows that overly-burdensome regulations deter citizens from trying hunting for the first time. This includes the current requirement that virtually all prospective hunters complete hunter education. An apprentice hunting program allows people a “try it before they buy it” opportunity. Ultimately, many will want to complete a hunter education course in order to hunt on their own. In the end, more citizens will complete hunter education and join the hunting ranks as a result.
Please contact the members of the Senate Finance Committee TODAY and respectfully urge them to support H. 243. Contact information for the committee can be found below.
State Senator Ann Cummings, Chair
(802) 223-6043
[email protected]
State Senator Claire Ayer, Vice Chair
(802) 545-2142
[email protected]
State Senator William Carris
(802) 438-5391
[email protected]
State Senator Harold Giard
(802) 758-2577
[email protected]
State Senator Robert Hartwell
(802) 362-5757
[email protected]
State Senator Mark MacDonald, Clerk
(802) 433-5867
[email protected]
State Senator Richard McCormack
(802) 234-5497
[email protected]
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