Sponsored by:
Senator STEVEN V. OROHO
District 24 (Morris, Sussex and Warren)
Senator ANTHONY R. BUCCO
District 25 (Morris and Somerset)
Co-Sponsored by:
Senator Addiego
SYNOPSIS
Authorizes Sunday bow hunting on federal military installations.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning hunting on federal military lands and amending R.S.23:4-24.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. R.S.23:4-24 is amended to read as follows:
23:4-24. a. No person shall hunt with a hound or with firearms or weapons of any kind, or carry a gun in the woods or fields or on the waters on Sunday, under a penalty of $50 for each offense; except that this section shall not apply to:
(1) any person hunting raccoon between midnight on Saturday and sunrise on Sunday during the season prescribed in R.S.23:4-1;
(2) a person possessing a valid and proper rifle permit licensed to trap fur-bearing animals pursuant to the provisions of R.S.23:3-1 using a .22 caliber rifle and .22 caliber short rimfire cartridges to humanely dispatch legally trapped animals; or
(3) a person using a bow and arrow to hunt deer during any bow and arrow hunting season for deer prescribed by the State Fish and Game Code, provided the person possesses a valid bow and arrow license, or a valid "All Around Sportsman License" if applicable, issued by the division, abides by all applicable provisions of the code, and is hunting on a State wildlife management area or on private property , or on federal military land, subject to proper approval granted by that federal military installation .
b. This section shall not prevent farm land owners, lessees actually occupying or farming the land, members of their immediate families, or their farm employees from hunting and destroying at any time and in any manner crows, woodchuck, fox and vermin on that land.
(cf: P.L.2009, c.48, s.1)
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill would authorize Sunday bow hunting on federal military installations, subject to approval by that federal military installation.
Upon the enactment of P.L.2009, c.48, bow hunting in New Jersey became permitted on Sundays “on a State wildlife management area or on private property.”
This bill would amend current law to authorize the hunting of deer with bow and arrow on Sundays on federal military lands in the State during any bow and arrow hunting season for deer prescribed by the State Fish and Game Code, provided the person hunting possesses a valid bow and arrow license, or a valid "All Around Sportsman License" if applicable, issued by the Division of Fish and Wildlife, and abides by all applicable provisions of the State Fish and Game Code.
Currently, hunting is allowed on federal military land in the State, subject to permission granted by each military installation, but Sunday bow hunting is not expressly allowed and authorized on federal military installations under current law. A federal military installation may allow hunting on their lands but is subject to both federal and State laws and regulations. The New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife, in the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), works with each military installation to ensure that State hunting regulations are followed. It is up to each federal military installation in the State whether to permit hunting, although the DEP retains jurisdiction over wildlife.