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Some are gunning to restrict hunting
For hunters, deer season is a cherished time of year – an occasion to pursue an elusive prey, enjoy the outdoors and the camaraderie, and maybe even bag a trophy buck.
But for animal lovers and many who live near hunting grounds, it's a time of fear and loathing.
"When hunting season begins, my blood pressure goes up," said Edith Keller, who lives on 34 acres in a wooded area near Glenmere Lake on the Chester-Warwick border.
Keller has been at war with hunters ever since a stray bullet nearly struck her outside her house 34 years ago.
"I'm just waiting for the law to change," she said. "If only they would make it impossible to discharge a weapon around here."
Keller suggested changing state law to prohibit hunters from shooting within 1,000 feet of a residence. That, she said, would greatly reduce the number of hunting areas in Orange County.
For now, the law prohibits discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a dwelling, unless it is on the hunter's own property.
One mother found herself inquiring about those rules recently after moving from Monroe to Warwick in August and discovering that people hunt in woods and fields near her new home.
"I don't know where the guns are going off, but it sounds like it's not too far away," said the woman, who did not want her name used. "It scares me for my children, especially when they're playing in the yard. These bullets do travel and that's my biggest fear.
"It's becoming a very populated area," she said. "I think hunting should be taken into the woods and wilderness."
Earlier this year, three Orange County legislators broached the idea of banning rifle hunting in the more populated areas of the county.
The suggestion, which has been raised before in recent years, didn't get very far. Hunters turned out in force to express disapproval and the rest of the county lawmakers quickly distanced themselves from the proposal.
Chris McKenna
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