Bill > S1202

This bill updates Massachusetts' hunter harassment laws to explicitly protect hunters' rights and establish clear legal protections and penalties for individuals who intentionally interfere with lawful hunting activities. The bill defines various forms of harassment, including deliberately disturbing wildlife, blocking or following hunters, using visual or audio stimuli to disrupt hunting, creating barriers to hunting areas, entering properties without permission, verbally or physically threatening hunters, and using aerial devices to harass or intimidate hunters. The legislation establishes specific criminal penalties for different levels of harassment: a one-year jail term or $1,000 fine for basic interference, a two-year jail term or $5,000 fine for damaging hunting equipment, and a five-year jail term or $10,000 fine for causing bodily injury during harassment. The bill also makes it illegal to improperly post land to restrict hunting and provides that fines collected under this law will be deposited into the Inland Fisheries and Game Fund to support hunter education programs. The underlying principle is to ensure that citizens can legally harvest fish and wildlife without undue interference, while maintaining sustainable natural resource populations.

Justice

https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/S1202