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Giving NYC hunters a voice; the effect of legislative districting on

hunting policy; and the need for more NYC signatures on the dove
hunting petition.
150 assembly seats statewide.
76 votes required for majority (to pass a bill).
NYC wields considerable political power: 64 of the 150 assembly seats exist in NYC (Districts 22
86 shown in red circle).

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Figures 2 6 below: red markers denote zip codes were signatures have been obtained.
Number of signatures may be greater than one.
Figure 2

Map of petition signatures by zip-code, zoomed in to NYC Borough Staten Island.

Figure 3

Map of petition signatures by zip-code, zoomed in to NYC Borough Manhattan

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Figure 4

Map of petition signatures by zip-code, zoomed in to NYC Borough Brooklyn

Figure 5

Map of petition signatures by zip-code, zoomed in to NYC Borough Bronx

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Figure 6

Map of petition signatures by zip-code, zoomed in to NYC Borough Queens

Discussion
NYC carries the most power in regard to deciding the laws governing hunting in upstate New
York, primarily due to its voting weight in the state assembly.
Estimates about how many people hunt in NY vary from 500,000 to 800,000. It is unknown how
many hunters reside among NYCs 9 million residents. It seems NYC hunters are not organized.
To our knowledge currently (June 2016) there are only 2 small and not politically active
organizations of hunters in NYC; the United Hunters of NYC and NYC Hunting Meetup, with a
total combined membership of less than 200 at this time (June 2016). We are not informed
about the level of knowledge among these hunters regarding political and hunting policy. An
outdoor shooting facility may be operating in Staten Island, however we have been unable to
engage this facility in any conversation and it may in fact no longer be operating. We do not
have a list of businesses that sell sporting firearms, hunting equipment, or hunting licenses. NYC
residents must endure significant challenges if they wish to participate in hunting. Some
hunters residing in NYC, particularly those residing in Staten Island, hunt in NJ instead of NY,
thus do not purchase NY hunting licenses.

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There are several well-funded and politically active anti-hunting organizations based in NYC,
physically close to the power core of State Legislature. Anti-hunting activists and lobbyists can
be very effective without venturing off their home-base into upstate, where hunting is
somewhat better understood. We are certain that the NYC area assembly representatives are
heavily lobbied by anti-hunters and anti-hunting organizations. However, we speculate they are
rarely contacted by the hunting community. The state-wide news media and the local NYC
media in particular is generally biased against hunting as well. Some members of the Legislature
may never be contacted by individuals or organizations representing hunters during their entire
political career. It is likely that pro-hunting activists or organizations that do engage NYC
Legislatures are not local NYC residents.
The existing situation can be characterized as an over representation of the values and desires
of anti-hunters, many of which do not live in either NYC or upstate NY. Arguably, other than
offending ideology, much of the policy enacted, as well as blocked, does not affect residents of
the region (except those that do hunt) while impacting upstate NY. Our elected officials should
not decide policy to protect ideology.
These elected officials should be reminded that if their ambitions ever exceed the State
Legislature or perhaps Congress; that chances of being elected to the Cabinet, White House, or
even to Governor of NY, will be negatively impacted with a record of anti-hunting votes, bill
sponsorship, advocacy, or endorsement. What keeps one elected in NYC or in certain upstate
districts works in that environment, however, to become elected to other offices, a wider net
must be cast. Like it or not, and believe it or not, the values of anti-hunters are not widely
accepted everywhere.
It is imperative that formal steps be taken to organize and train hunters who live in NYC. The
current political leverage has existed too long. The movement to annex NYC from the State is
probably not a likely solution, and it is positively not something that can be realized in the
foreseeable future. This movement is attractive to ideologues and is a distraction or red herring
which interferes with moving ahead with organizing and much more viable ideas that actually
can be realized. We are not advocating for or against this movement, but rather we are
stressing the importance of keeping it out of the conversations pertaining to organizing and
politically empowering hunters who live in NYC.
It is also important to avoid getting side-tracked on political composition, i.e., republicans,
democrats, liberals, conservatives. Over the years considerable opportunity has been lost and
time wasted due to the amount of attention which this has received without any positive

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outcome toward hunting policy. In fact, this likely has exasperated the difficulty in advancing
beneficial hunting legislation or policy.
In a perfect world, our elected officials would have integrity, be competent, and practice due
diligence in researching every decision they make, and would let the facts guide their actions. In
reality, none of that is true across the entire board.
The volume and broad array of issues a Legislator deals with is part of the problem. That is one
reason it is important that hunters become activists. Being an effective activist requires
acquiring knowledge about the topic you are advocating for. That does not mean you have to
become a subject matter expert. However, you do need a certain level of knowledge and be
able to communicate what you know in an effective manner. At the very least, an activist can
sign petitions and send form letters. Addressing the earlier mentioned media bias is also
important; however this is one particular task that requires you are perfect with the facts. Few
people are willing to make the necessary investment in time to properly debunk news
editorials. Inadequate or faulty responses can make things worse. However, news editorials
that go unchallenged have far reaching and long lasting impacts on public and political opinion.
It is essential that the NY hunting community develops a letter writing culture to properly
address the news media.

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