City Proposes Allowing Farmers To Use Firearms To Protect Crops

HAVRE DE GRACE, MD — Havre de Grace City Council President David Glenn has proposed an ordinance that would allow farmers to shoot guns on their property. Residents will be able to weigh in on the proposal Monday night.

"There are certain properties in the city of Havre de Grace, while an integral part of the city are very much country or agricultural in nature," Glenn said. He said that animals or invasive birds looking for food sometimes compromise their crops.

Drones and netting had not been successful in staving off predators, Glenn said.

"This puts tremendous pressure on farmers for fear of losing their revenue sources," Glenn said, proposing allowing firearms to use shotguns to protect their crops.

There would be several stipulations should farmers use firearms :

• Limited to 20-gauge shotguns using birdshot not slugs. Glenn said these were selected because of the spray pattern.
• Shall not be discharged within 150 yards of a building for human occupancy.
• Notify police before discharging the shotgun intending to use it for farming or agricultural purposes.

There will be a hearing on the ordinance at the Havre de Grace City Council meeting at 7 p.m. on Nov. 18. The meeting is at City Hall, 711 Pennington Avenue, Havre de Grace.

This is the firearms code as it stands:

73-1Discharge of firearms prohibited; exceptions.
[Amended 7-3-2017 by Ord. No. 991]
It shall be unlawful for any person to fire or cause to be fired any firearm, rifle, shotgun, pistol, pellet gun or BB gun of any kind within the corporate limits of the City of Havre de Grace, except on approved firing ranges or while waterfowl hunting as may be permitted by state or federal regulatory agencies in those water-bourne areas on the southern side of Tydings Park Island depicted in Exhibit A to this Code section,[1] which areas of the Susquehanna River and Chesapeake Bay were annexed by the City of Havre de Grace as part of the Tydings Park Island annexation.[2]