Hunters in Haverhill!!!! Meeting of safety committee tonight proposing changes to hunting regs in h

[whacko]

A woman on Atlanta street in the hilldale Ave area states she is finding shotgun pellets in her yard and wants to close the area behind hilldale by the mbta tracks to hunting. It's a 19 acre plot. If hunters are firing within 500 feet of her home this is an issue and I see her point. However, city counselor mcgonagle wants to hear all opinions from all sides and scheduled a meeting of the safety committee at 7pm at City Hall. According to the article proposals up to and including banning hunting altogether will be considered. I will be attending.

Article below

Council to consider changes to hunting rules

 

[HorizontalHunter]

I’d like to see a picture of the pellets she is finding in her back yard. I’m sure she has some interesting way to find them in her back yard.

Bob

 

[bdb]

Yeah, I'd like to see them also. Slugs or buck shot only and I don't know anyone using buckshot over slugs heer in MA though I am sure some are, especially if it's a drive. My guess is she's full of chit.

 

[whacko]

Yeah, I'd like to see them also. Slugs or buck shot only and I don't know anyone using buckshot over slugs heer in MA though I am sure some are, especially if it's a drive. My guess is she's full of chit.

There is wetlands of the little river there. Says she hears the shots and finds pellets in October...... May be from duck hunting. Anyway I'm going to the meeting......If they propose an outright ban in Haverhill I'm gonna flip.

 

[HorizontalHunter]

There is wetlands of the little river there. May be from duck hunting. Anyway I'm going to the meeting......If they propose an outright ban in Haverhill I'm gonna flip.

That was my first thought. It’s probably some harmless “steel rain” from the waterfowlers that she found in the gutter downspouts.

Bob

 

[whacko]

That was my first thought. It’s probably some harmless “steel rain” from the waterfowlers that she found in the gutter downspouts.

Bob

I agree.

The quotes that scare me are the ones stating "up to and including a ban of hunting in Haverhill".

The 19 acre plot behind the houses is a thin strip. I used my on x ap to look at it.......I'd never hunt it.....it really is tight to the houses.

I'm more worried about losing the ability to hunt the Haverhill owned conservation areas. Those are larger......one is 250 acres and another is 180.

 

[DispositionMatrix]

This is MA, so my money is on hunting being banned altogether in Haverhill. Here is all that matters to town pols looking for a leg up:

...a concerned Atlanta Street resident told the City Council she feels unsafe in her own backyard.

That statement is like gold to self-serving pols and firearm prohibitionists.

 

[whacko]

This is MA, so my money is on hunting being banned altogether in Haverhill. Here is all that matters to town pols looking for a leg up:

That statement is like gold to self-serving pols and firearm prohibitionists.

That's why I'm going and plan to speak if things get crazy.

 

[bdb]

Watch, if anything they will ban "discharge of firearms" within town limits. Many towns have gone this route. Not so bad for bow hunters but definitely bad for shotgun hunters!

 

[DispositionMatrix]

That's why I'm going and plan to speak if things get crazy.

Tomorrow's coverage in the Trib, regardless of what you might actually say and how you present yourself:
As besieged peace-loving residents struggled to be heard and their children cried, they came under verbal assault by a local gun bully who derives pleasure from murdering defenseless animals. With a mouth full of chewing tobacco and donning a bright red MAGA hat of the type worn by supporters of President Donald J. Trump--like the man who murdered Heather Heyer in Charlottesville, VA in 2017--the menacing, greasy, Carhartt-clad figure chanted "U-S-A" and "build that wall" in between accusations the residents had made up the shotgun pellet stories in order to fulfill an agenda promoted and funded by philanthropic gun safety hero George Soros.

 

[Coyote33]

A woman on Atlanta street in the hilldale Ave area states she is finding shotgun pellets in her yard and ...

It's a 19 acre plot. If hunters are firing within 500 feet of her home this is an issue and ...

If she is finding pellets in her yard, and hunters are firing within 500 feet of her home, ...

THIS IS ALREADY COVERED BY MA LAW!

 

[whacko]

If she is finding pellets in her yard, and hunters are firing within 500 feet of her home, ...

THIS IS ALREADY COVERED BY MA LAW!

A point I plan to bring up

 

[whacko]

The meeting was very well attended by the hunting community. Points that were made

1. City council has no intentions of banning hunting in Haverhill
2. There was talk of increasing the set back limit to 1000 feet but discussions among council members and correspondence with Haverhill resident hunters has all the council members understanding that 500 feet is fine.
3. The home owner that waged the complaint has no issue with hinting.....the problem is that hunters disregard the 500 foot ruke and she does get pellets coming in her yard.
4. The main issue is ILLEGAL hunting onnthat spot where the 500 foot rule is disobeyed by some.....but not all hunters.
5. The mbta has already posted the 19 acre lot with proper signage and the homeowner has had no issues since.
6. A committee will be formed with the mayor's office to look into additional areas in Haverhill that have residential areas close to hunting areas and look into "safety zone" reverse signage letting hunters know where the 500 foot boundary is.

All on all it was fine. Couple of off color comments from the crowd but nothing terrible.

One thing I'll add is that it was good to see the hunting community there in numbers. It was made very clear and evident to the council members on the board that any hint of banning hunting in Haverhill will cost them at the ballot box. It was almost standing room only in the auditorium.

 

[JGreen]

A tip of the hat for the Haverhill residents that attended the meeting!

 

[KBCraig]

The meeting was very well attended by the hunting community.

So was there any clarification of these "pellets" she's finding in her yard?

If they're buckshot, local hunters must really suck to be missing that many deer.

 

[whacko]

So was there any clarification of these "pellets" she's finding in her yard?

If they're buckshot, local hunters must really suck to be missing that many deer.

There was never any clarification but she did say the hunters that she confronted that fired and she had pellets hit her house were hunting with dogs.....I'm sure it's just birdshot. She's not a hunter herself so probably doesn't know the difference.

The good news out of it is she seems satisfied since the land was posted and the city council got to see what even hinting at banning hunting would do as far as the hunting community is concerned.

That 19 acre parcel is a narrow patch from what I see on the map.......I'm pretty sure the question here was about ILLEGAL shots within 500 feet of occupied dwellings.....and the city council members all made that abundantly clear.

A couple of hunters made statements that this sounds like a law enforcement issue and the council members stated that additional resources need to be looked at during hunting season.

The home owner that made the complaint made it abundantly clear that she does not want to ban hunting and she's not anti hunter.......she's just tired of a few bad apples firing so close......and toward.....her house.

 

[FisherTech]

Last I knew, Haverhill had its own fully empowered "Conservation Officers" (Game Wardens) Do they still have them? If so, where are they on these complaints?

 

[whacko]

Last I knew, Haverhill had its own fully empowered "Conservation Officers" (Game Wardens) Do they still have them? If so, where are they on these complaints?

That do not have their own anymore
There was an epo lieutenant at the meeting to answer questions if needed. Nobody had any for him and he never spoke on the matter.

I think there is an underlying he said she said between Haverhill pd and the epos on this. Haverhill is probably pushing the issue onto epo......because they are "understaffed" according the the council.