No Longer Safe In The Yard
No Longer Safe In The Yard
To the Editor:
Itâs amazing how life can change in just one day. My husband and I have lived in Newtown for 14 wonderful years. Weâve always enjoyed Newtownâs natural beauty and wooded areas. Over the years, weâve spent countless hours in our backyard, marveling at the birds who stop at our feeders, watching the fox and deer pass through, and tending our lawn and gardens. My husband throws ball with our son in the yard, and our dogs and cats, and sometimes our son, play by the pond in the woods. We sit in the privacy of our peaceful backyard and listen to music or the ball game.
But one day in the middle of the week, midday, everything changed. From my backyard, I saw two men in the woods. I did not recognize them, so I asked what they were doing in the woods in our neighborhood. They were evasive. I approached them, and it was clear at that point what they were doing. These men were hunting, perched in a tree, setting up or getting ready to hunt with bow and arrows in the woods behind our home.
How can we allow people equipped with lethal weapons to be hunting in a neighborhood where our children and pets play? They were less than 200 feet from my home. I am not opposed to hunting, but I am strongly opposed to hunting in my backyard.
That Sunday, while relaxing at home, we heard a knock on the door. An agent from the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, which regulates hunting in our state, asked to speak with me. He informed me that his agency had received a complaint from the hunters, claiming that I had harassed the men. The agent explained that harassing hunters is illegal in our state, and that I would be arrested if it happened again.
What about my rights? I believed that my family and our pets were put in extreme danger by the bow hunters who were less than 200 feet from our home. Whatâs wrong with this picture?
At the last town meeting addressing the hunting issue, I was told to wear orange if I knew that hunters were in the woods. In my own back yard!
Itâs time the rules changed. We homeowners have rights, too. Donât wait until the hunters come into your backyard to voice your opposition to bow hunting regulations. Write our Board of Selectman today.
Patricia Fogelstrom
7 Brookwood Drive, Newtown                                 December 3, 2008