Animal-rights activists on July 17 sued the state of Wisconsin over its 2015 Right to Hunt Act, claiming their rights are infringed by the act’s expansion of anti-hunter harassment laws and its explanation of what exactly “harassment” entails.
In their lawsuit, which is funded by the Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF), members of the group claim the act’s expansion and definition of “harassment,” to include impairing a hunter’s line of sight while in the field, taking repeated (more than two instances) video and/or photos of hunters or antagonizing a hunter with the intent to disrupt the hunter on that particular hunt, is unlawful as it encroaches on their First Amendment rights.
Hunters in Wisconsin, however, applaud the expansion as it consequently all but shuts down the activists’ ability to interfere with lawful hunting practices.
NRA-ILA State and Local Affairs Director Lacey Biles explained, “Securing our right to hunt is why the NRA-ILA has been very supportive of adopting anti-hunter harassment laws in all 50 states. There can be a lot of gray areas, and it often comes down to how a game warden or judge interprets the law. We certainly do what we can to help tighten up those laws as they’re being drafted.”
