Overview
- Healey plans to file the changes in the coming weeks through a supplemental budget, describing the effort as a modernization of state hunting laws.
- The proposal would legalize crossbows for all hunters, cut the bowhunting setback from 500 to 250 feet, and end the statewide Sunday prohibition; officials say the setback change could open thousands of acres and note current crossbow use is largely limited to those with permanent disabilities.
- Massachusetts remains one of only two states that ban Sunday hunting, a restriction the administration argues drives residents to hunt and spend money out of state.
- Wildlife officials cite deer densities above the 12–18 per–square–mile goal, with estimates of 25–50 in parts of Eastern Massachusetts, contributing to car collisions, farm damage, forest degradation and complicating tick-control strategies.
- MassWildlife held five listening sessions and received over 11,000 comments showing 70% support for lifting the Sunday ban, and its board unanimously endorsed the package, while the MSPCA opposes the change and public health officials will track alpha-gal syndrome statewide for one year starting April 1, 2026.