Massachusetts Considers Allowing Hunters To Bag More Wild Turkeys

Wild Turkey

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BOSTON (AP/WBZ-AM) — Citing the abundance of wild turkeys in Massachusetts, state officials are considering changes in hunting rules that would allow hunters to harvest more of the birds.

MassWildlife has scheduled informational meetings in Westborough and Palmer next month to give the public a chance to discuss the potential changes, which have yet to be formally proposed.

Under consideration is increasing the current annual limit of two wild turkeys per hunter to three. It would also allow hunters to bag two turkeys in a single day during the spring hunting season, instead of the current daily limit of one.

State wildlife experts say the current hunting restrictions can be eased without hurting the overall wild turkey population.

The conservation of the wild turkey has been a success, according to the director of the master's program in conservation medicine at Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, at Tufts University, Chris Whittier.

"My suspicion or expectation is that MassWildlife kinda knows what they're doing," Whittier said. "You could argue it's a relatively conservative increase." 

Today, there are approximately 6 million wild turkeys in North America, according to an article by Whittier. 

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WBZ NewsRadio1030's Bill Marcus (@BillMarcusWBZ) reports


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