Massachusetts Towns That Prohibit Hunting
Hard to believe it's almost the end of the year already. Where has time gone? Well since the weather is much cooler now, that can only mean one thing. Hunting season. While I'm not a hunter personally, I do have a few buddies that take advantage of this sport every year.
Some people are against this sport all together because they think it's cruelty to wildlife, hunters are mean because they shoot animals for fun. Which is not true because they're strict rules and regulations when it comes to hunting in the commonwealth.
So which towns forbid hunting here in the Baystate?
While Western/Central Massachusetts has a lot of wildernesses full of wildlife, the biggest issue for hunting seems to be in Eastern Massachusetts past I-495 heading towards Boston. I mean it makes sense being crime as bad as it is, you don't want to mistake gunfire near the city for something else when it's just an innocent hunter hunting wildlife.
It's not completely forbidden to hunt in Eastern Massachusetts, but they're some rules and regulations like everything else. Mainly it's obtaining written permission from property owners since a lot of land is privately owned in this section of Massachusetts. Not to mention, the law where you cannot discharge a firearm within 500 feet of a residence.
Here's a list of towns that require permission from property owners to hunt on their land or authorities from that given town:
Acton, Essex, Milton, Swampscott, Andover, Framingham, Monterey, Tolland, Alford, Georgetown, Natick, Topsfield, Bedford, Gosnold, Needham, Tyngsboro, Beverly, Groveland, New Marlboro, Tyringham, Billerica, Hamilton, Newbury, Walpole, Blandford, Hampden, North Andover, Waltham, Bolton, Harvard, Northboro, Wayland, Boxford, Holliston, Norwood, Wellesley, Boxborough, Hull, Peabody, Wenham, Brewster, Ipswich, Reading, Weston, Brookline, Lincoln, Rowley, Westboro, Carlisle, Littleton, Sandisfield, Westford, Chelmsford, Lunenburg, Saugus, Westwood, Concord, Medfield, Seekonk, West Newbury, Cuttyhunk, Methuen, Sheffield, West Stockbridge, Danvers, Middlefield, Sherborn, West Tisbury, Dover, Middleton, Southboro, Wilbraham, Dracut, Millis, Stow, Dunstable, Sudbury and East Longmeadow.
If you're a hunter, what is the biggest deer you've ever caught? Let us know and even send a picture to our station app.
READ MORE:
States with the most registered hunters
Gallery Credit: Meagan Drillinger