Sunday hunting is still illegal in Maine after the state’s top court ruled Thursday that the 140-year-ban does not conflict with Maine’s constitution.
A Maine couple filed a lawsuit in April 2022 saying that the right-to-food amendment approved by voters in 2021 meant the Sunday hunting ban was unconstitutional. The Maine Supreme Judicial Court disagreed after hearing arguments in October.
The right to hunt on Sundays has long been debated in Maine, and numerous bills over the years proposing to end the ban have failed.
The right-to-food amendment gave Mainers a right to grow, harvest and produce food as long as no laws are broken and no public or private land is abused. A key part of the amendment for the lawsuit was the meaning of the word “harvest.”
Maine Assistant Attorney General Paul Suitter argued that harvest referred to agriculture, not hunting. While Pamela Lee, attorney for the couple who filed the suit, Virginia and Joel Parker, said “harvest” replaced a string of words, including fishing, clamming and foraging in the amendment, which is designed to encompass them all, including hunting.
Justices found that amendment does create a “limited right to hunt,” as long as a person does not commit poaching. Since hunting on Sunday is banned, a person would be poaching or illegally hunting, contrary to the explicit poaching exception in the amendment, the opinion said.
The right to hunt for food does not include illegal hunting, the opinion said.
Private woodlands in Maine are typically open to hunters, hikers and others as long as there aren’t “no trespassing” or “access by permission only” signs or other markings.
The Kennebec County Superior Court dismissed the lawsuit in November 2022, which was done in error, Thursday’s opinion said. In most cases the supreme court would send the case back without issuing a decision.
However, it would likely end up immediately back at the supreme court because of the issue around if it’s constitutional, so the court decided to make a ruling now.
Another attorney for the Parkers, Andy Schmidt, said that while it’s disappointing the right to hunt on Sunday was not granted, it was still an important ruling because it confirmed the right to hunt is included in the amendment.
“This is a crucial victory for the rights of Mainers, and I’m proud of the Parkers,” Schmidt said.
The executive director of Maine Hunters United for Sunday Hunting, Jared Bornstein, agreed, saying it is an important step forward.
“We feel this is going to protect all species for the future,” Bornstein said. “I feel like it will protect things like bear baiting or deer hunting or whatever it is that was legal at the time the amendment was passed.”