Westport Hunting Ban Allowed by Unique Law

As the debate on how to deal with an abundance of Westport deer continues, possibly lifting the town-wide ban on hunting is hinged on unique powers granted by the state legislature more than 75 years ago.

The authority granted in Hartford didn't ban hunting outright, but it allowed the town to slowly expand its "no hunting zone" as public sentiment shifted against the sport. Eventually, this zone enveloped the whole town.

In May 1933, the Connecticut General Assembly approved Special Act 254, which allowed Westport to "regulate, limit or prohibit hunting and trapping." No other town in Connecticut has such broad powers pertaining to hunting, and the reason for granted this exception remain murky.

Some believe that a hunting accident at around that time period spurred on the legislation, but a report by Eileen Francis, assistant to the town attorney, looked at news articles and meeting minutes from 1929 to end of 1932 and found no mention of this.

"I found no reason why Westport was the only community in Connecticut requesting such an [a]ct," she wrote in the 2008 report.

Due to a petition signed by Westport residents concerned about the overpopulation of deer, the Representative Town Meeting is considering methods to manage deer, whether it's through hunting, contraceptives, or by taking no measures at all. Even hiring professional hunters to limit the deer population is not permitted.

Three committees of the RTM are taking testimony and holding public hearings. Eventually, a report will be filed and possible measures will be voted on by the full RTM. Then the power to implement those measures would likely rest with First Selectman Gordon Joseloff.

"We're still months away [from a decision]," said Hadley Rose, moderator of the RTM.

The issue of whether or not to hunt deer can be a powder keg of dissention. When Fairfield discussed modifying its regulations in 2009, anti-hunting activists protested at the often rowdy meetings. Westport's on the issue was relatively tame, but that might not be the case again. The next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. in the Town Hall auditorium. It is not expected to be televised.

Months after the legislature allowed Westport to deal with hunting regulations in 1933, an outright ban was considered. The only permitted hunting would be on someone's own property and shooting ducks from below the high water mark. This proposal failed.

In 1939, according to the report, Anna Nash and 144 other people petitioned to have hunting banned in the Old Hill neighborhood. There was an intense debate between the neighbors and hunting enthusiasts, but this proposal also failed. When this proposal was voted down, "boos" and "unruly remarks" echoed throughout the meeting room, according to the defunct Westporter-Herald.

On the opening day of the 1939 hunting season, gunshots were heard throughout "Fairfield County hills," reported the Herald, and the tide against hunters began to turn. Two special officers were appointed to monitor and regulate hunting areas. Nine years later, the town of Westport adopted new regulations that established the town as a hunting district. Hunting wasn't banned, but the new regulations did make future changes.

Finally, in 1960, hunting was banned in the areas of south of Interstate 95, near the Sherwood Island Connecter and Hillspoint Road, and the southern part of town near the Long Island Sound, according to the report. In the next nine years, that banned area continued to expand.

In 1971, hunting was banned outright throughout town because the town was so "sufficiently congested that there presented an acute safety hazard to the people."