We the undersigned request that the NJ Legislature and Governor Christie pass and sign into law S699 and its assembly equivelent which legalizes Sunday hunting with firearms in the state of NJ.
Statement of facts:
NJ’s long standing Sunday hunting prohibition has cost the state tens of millions of dollars to both the general fund and conservation funding. Each passing year this law continues to add to that lost financial and environmental opportunity. How many more decades should this needlessly occur?
Only 11 states still do not allow Sunday hunting.
Hunting is a seasonal activity. Non hunters enjoy the ability to recreate on public lands the vast majority of the year without the presence of hunting. The average NJ hunter may only hunt six to eight Saturdays per year, weather permitting, and that is simply unfair. Besides weather, people often become committed to other Saturday obligations during hunting season.
Hunting license sales have been experiencing a long term decline. This presents two fundamental problems. First, this causes a loss of an American tradition. Second, state wildlife agencies depend on hunting license revenue as part of their operating budget. It is not important how much hunters pay or who pays the most, as the license revenue is significant and without it, any state wildlife agency would be impacted. Here is a report about the economics of SUNDAY hunting: http://sundayhunting.org/PDF/SundayHunting_EconomicImpact.pdf
Equally important is the biological data provided by hunters which would be difficult and expensive for state wildlife agencies to obtain without hunting. Although many factors are involved in the declining participation in hunting, the ability to hunt on Sundays would facilitate both hunter recruitment and retention. For many people, Sunday hunting may be the only opportunity for them to hunt.
