All hunting is prohibited in Westport. It’s the only municipality in the state with such a broad ban.
The ordinance dates back to 1933, when the General Assembly allowed Westport to “regulate, limit or prohibit hunting and trapping.” The reason has been lost in history.
Gradually, limits were set. In 1960 hunting was banned south of I-95, and near the Sherwood Island Connector and Hillspoint Road.
In 1971, all hunting was prohibited throughout Westport. The town was so “sufficiently congested that there presented an acute safety hazard to the people,” a report said.
Bow hunting: Bam — for Bambi.
A reader has noticed the increasing deer population. She writes: “Why is Westport the only town in the state that does not allow bow hunting on properties over 2 acres (as every other town in Connecticut does)? We could safely start to cull what, without such measures, may soon become the majority of inhabitants, surpassing human residents here.”
She wonders whether “06880” readers see bow hunting as a viable alternative to the growing number of deer. Is it an idea whose time has come? Or is it way too dangerous (to people as well as deer)?
Click “Comments” below, to share your thoughts.
Get off my lawn — or I’ll shoot? (Photo/Patricia Auber)
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