Gray squirrels made a lot of headlines in 2018, when a dearth of forest nuts led squirrels to hit the road in search of food and, unfortunately get hit on the road by the thousands. Yet that great “squirrel apocalypse” had no long-term impact on the population, said state Sen. Tim Lang, sponsor of a bill that would make it legal to hunt squirrels year-round.
A Chester woman is taking aim at a bill introduced this month she says would allow gray squirrels to be openly slaughtered — “even for target practice” — with zero protections.
Gray squirrels made a lot of headlines in 2018, when a dearth of forest nuts led squirrels to hit the road in search of food and, unfortunately get hit on the road by the thousands. Yet that great “squirrel apocalypse” had no long-term impact on the population, said state Sen. Tim Lang, sponsor of a bill that would make it legal to hunt squirrels year-round.
Cheryl LeBlanc/File
Kristina Snyder, an animal rights activist, says the fact that Republican state Rep. James Spillane of Deerfield — famously removed from the House Fish and Game Committee in 2019 after posting on social media a gruesome photo of a squirrel he blasted to pieces in his backyard — has signed on as a co-sponsor of the bill gives more ammo to her argument the legislation, introduced by state Sen. Tim Lang, R-Sanbornton, intentionally targets the furry animals.
“This to me is a revenge bill and stinks of political motivation,” said Snyder. “When Spillane shot that squirrel it was big news because so many people were appalled at it. If Senator Lang’s bill passes it would mean there would be no consequences for people doing what Spillane did any day of the year.”
Senate Bill 548 removes gray squirrels from the definition of game animals. The bill is co-sponsored by Republican state Sens. Ruth Ward of Stoddard, James Gray of Rochester and Howard Pearl of Loudon, as well as Rep. Spillane.
The bill will be introduced Jan. 3 and referred to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.
Protection effort flipped
Last year in the House, Rep. Amanda Bouldin, D-Manchester, introduced legislation aimed at delaying the start of squirrel hunting season, to give lactating mother squirrels time to care for their babies. Under the current law, the season starts on Sept. 1, earlier than other nearby states. The season ends Jan. 31.
Bouldin’s House Bill 1356 would have pushed back the start of gray squirrel hunting season two weeks, from Sept. 1 to Sept. 15. But after a hearing in the House Fish and Game and Marine Resources Committee with extensive testimony on the destructive nature of gray squirrels, the bill was amended to create a year-round open season.
The amended bill would have put gray squirrels in the same boat as animals like red squirrels, groundhogs, and porcupines which have open season year-round.
“There was no testimony that this small game species was in any way endangered, and we all remember the squirrel apocalypse on our roads of a few years ago. Even that mass casualty event did not cause a significant impact on the squirrel population now,” said Lang, then a member of the House, in the majority report.
Pearl also provided testimony on the amended bills, saying gray squirrels cost his maple syrup business between $10,000 and $20,000 a year.
The state Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee voted to reject the bill.
Lang says last year’s attempt to open gray squirrel season year-round died in the Senate “probably rightfully so,” as it would have created a conflict in law. He said SB548 amends the proper statute.
“As chairman of the House Fish and Game Committee last term, we heard during the testimony of the original underlying bill from Fish and Game there was no legitimate or scientific reason to ‘manage’ the gray squirrel population,” said Lang.
“The reason we have ‘hunting seasons’ is to help manage an animal population, however that does not seem to be the case with squirrels. Many of us lived through the 2018 ‘squirrel apocalypse’ where every roadway was littered with dead squirrels. Squirrels are prolific breeders, and the squirrel population easily rebounded from that event.
“We do not manage the red nor black squirrel hunting season, so the addition of gray squirrels to the managed small game list was arbitrary and capricious.”
‘Squirrel slaughter’
Snyder opposes Lang’s bill, and hopes others speak out against it.
“I happen to personally like squirrels and chipmunks, I live on 23 acres and seeing them brings me great joy,” Snyder said. “I feed them peanuts and some come up to me like puppies expecting their peanut. I also researched gray squirrels and found out they are incredibly intelligent and doting mothers. There has also been research recently showing that squirrels have personalities.”
Snyder said Lang’s new bill “opens up the door to gray squirrel slaughter,” including when there are mothers nursing young.
“New Hampshire has no laws against wildlife killing contests and if his bill passes there could be gray squirrel killing contests,” Snyder said. “People could just randomly shoot squirrels whenever and use them for target practice. This bill is not a question of whether or not the gray squirrel population can withstand increased killing pressure, but the morality and ethics of a society.”
Spillane’s co-sponsoring of Lang’s new bill caught Snyder’s attention.
In late May 2019, Spillane was replying to a Twitter (now ‘X’) thread advocating veganism when he posted a photo of a squirrel he had shot to pieces, with the caption: “I shot a squirrel on my bird feeder today with a .50 caliber muzzleloader. Enjoy.”
Twitter immediately exploded with outrage that caught the attention of Fish and Game officers, who paid Spillane a visit and issued a warning, as Spillane’s tweet was out of gray squirrel season.
He was eventually removed from the House Fish and Game Committee by Speaker Steve Shurtleff, D-Concord.
Several attempts to solicit comment from Spillane last week regarding his support for SB548 were unsuccessful.
Snyder, who filed the initial complaint against Spillane with Col. Kevin Jordan of Fish and Game, said she thinks New Hampshire should be moving in a “more compassionate direction” and people should “practice coexistence.”
“Some people hate squirrels and go out of their way to hit them on the road, but many people stop because they care,” Snyder said. “Moving towards kindness is always the best choice.
“Clearly there is a small contingent of politicians out after the gray squirrels of New Hampshire.”
