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Animal Defenders of Westchester |
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Home Page We advocate on all animal protection and exploitation issues, including experimentation, factory farming, rodeos, breeders and traveling animal acts. Animal Defenders of Westchester |
Articles On the hunt for open space By JANE MCMANUS Tim Spaun has no trouble starting a conversation with strangers. He once
went to a house looking to buy a Saab, and by the time the keys were in his
pocket, Spaun had a new car and permission to hunt with a bow and arrow on a
prime piece of Westchester property. With only two public hunting spots in Westchester and none in Rockland,
Spaun's ability to connect puts him at a distinct advantage. It's that hard
to secure a local spot on private land. Hunters sometimes don't tell their
closest friends where they have rights, and landowners who grant permission
often stipulate that the pact remain secret. "A lot of people don't want you coming with an entourage," said Spaun,
who lives in Yonkers. The New York Department of Environmental Conservation, which governs
hunting in the state, recommends that hunters approach landowners for
permission to hunt on their property. "It is a popular sport in our region and something with a lot of
history," DEC Region 3 spokesperson Wendy Rosenbach said. "It's also a way
to control the wildlife population." Farther upstate, where many large tracts are held by farmers who are
familiar with hunting, it might make sense to knock on doors for permission.
In the Lower Hudson Valley, however, it can make for an awkward
conversation. In Westchester only bowhunting is allowed, but landowners
might be startled by the request, and some find killing offensive or are
worried about safety. Diana Barrella, who lives on an 8-acre parcel in Irvington on which she
grew up, recognizes the concerns her neighbors have about deer, but said the
area is still too densely populated for hunting. "It's just a matter of time until someone is going to get hurt," Barrella
said. Although Barrella posts "No hunting" signs on her property, she has found
hunters trespassing several times. In New York state, if no such sign is
posted on a property, hunters are allowed to use it. And even if they ignore
signs, Barrella said it is often difficult to get hunters censured for
misuse of their hunting licenses. Once a hunter passes a safety course, he or she has the right to purchase
a license, and local regulations or rules changes are often difficult to
disseminate. Many hunters, though, go only where they have permission. There are some unwritten rules for convincing a landowner to allow you to
use his or her property. For example, don't show up at 5 a.m. on the first
day of hunting season. Hunters often try to cultivate a relationship and
offer something in return. Spaun, for example, said he has built fences,
installed ceiling fans and even posted signs on a landowner's property to
show appreciation for the right to hunt. "Don't show up in (camouflage) with a weapon," Anthony Picariello of
Garnerville said. "You want to leave a good impression." One woman, who asked not to be named, has secretly allowed hunters to use
her property during the week although her husband finds the practice
distasteful. She did it after seeing weakened and sick deer on her land; she
hides the frozen venison steaks in the back of the freezer. Mike Sosser, a hunting-safety instructor from Pomona, isn't the kind of
person to ask strangers for a favor. But he struck up a conversation with a
man who came into his auto shop to have his car inspected, and after
talking, the man offered Sosser rights to hunt his land. "It's like hitting the lottery," Sosser said. There are two spots in northern Westchester where bowhunting is allowed
on county property, and both are near bodies of water. There are 180 acres
near the Kensico Reservoir in Valhalla and another 210 acres near the Croton
Reservoir in Yorktown. Both of the parcels were opened last year; they are
the only public options in Rockland or Westchester county. Other communities have specific regulations that limit the activity,
including Greenburgh and Yonkers, and several groups are working to end the
practice altogether. Kiley Blackman, a Yonkers resident whose group Animal
Defenders of Westchester actively lobbied for the Yonkers restrictions, said
sport hunting is not an answer to the deer, which many people see as a
problem. "My bottom line is we're against hunting, period," she said. Anne Muller, a spokesperson for Wildlife Watch, once found a hunter in a
treestand in her suburban neighborhood when she lived in Rockland a decade
ago. At another point, she found a hunter tracking an injured deer across
her land. "You have armed people going onto property with all kinds of excuses, and
I think it's very dangerous," Muller said. "They don't want armed men with
firearms coming to their home to ask if they can discharge those firearms."
The sides are polarized, but there are attempts to find common ground.
There was recently an open panel and discussion about deer at Pace
University that attracted both hunters and those who advocate non-lethal
solutions. "There is a lot of crossover," Rosenbach said. "A lot of
environmentalists also hunt." Fair Use Notice: This document may contain
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