Sunday Hunting Set for Senate Vote Wednesday

This Wednesday, January 25, the state Senate is expected to consider Senate Bill 464, legislation that would remove the prohibition on Sunday hunting in the Commonwealth of Virginia by alllowing hunting on private land and public waters.  It prohibits the use of dogs for deer hunting on Sunday. SB464 was reported out of Senate Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources Committee by an 11 to 4 vote last week. While it is all that many would have hoped for, it is a giant step forward.

At a time when the number of hunting licenses purchased in Virginia are 1/2 what they were 20 years ago, and many Virginians are not able to get into the woods on Saturdays due to work or family obligations, Sunday is the only day available for some hunters.  Additionally, allowing hunting on Sunday will be a boast for the Commonwealth's economy. NRA-ILA notes that comprehensive research from the National Shooting Sports Foundation shows that allowing hunting on Sundays would generate a total annual economic impact estimated at $296 million and create 3,927 jobs. All of this would be spurred by simply eliminating words from state statute books (the current prohibition), not spending taxpayer dollars on some pie-in-the-sky scheme.

Please contact your state Senator today, and respectfully urge him or her to support this critical pro-hunting legislation and extend Virginians the same privileges and opportunities that hunters in the vast majority of states already enjoy. To locate your state Senator and their contact information, please click here.