A Massachusetts family aggravated about being woken up by the sound of gunshot blasts from duck hunters at a nearby pond allegedly used an air horn to chase the birds and now may face charges of hunter interference, The Patriot Ledger reported.
Julie Carreiro, who lived in a house in Marshfield, Mass., since 1964, told The Boston Globe that hunting had never been a problem at the Hoyt Hall Preserve until a year ago. Hunting is not permitted on the area's pond and marshland, but there were never any tree postings warning hunters about the rule.
Last year, Carreiro said her family was woken up by the sound of gun blasts and yelled to the hunters to find a new pond, the report said. She called police, but when police arrived, they simply instructed the hunters not to aim in the direction of her house, she told The Globe.
The hunters reportedly returned this year and refused to leave after they were confronted by Carreiro's husband and son.
"The noise just wouldn't end," Carreiro told The Globe. "At one point, they weren't hunting, they were just shooting for no reason except to make noise and make it clear they weren’t leaving."
Phil Tavares, the Marshfield police chief, told WHDH.com that there "were some threats" made and "it's alleged that the family used an air horn potentially to scare off some of the water fowl that were in the area." Carreiro denies using an air horn, the report said.
Police are also considering charges against the hunters for disturbing the peace, WHDH.com reported.
Carreiro told the paper that her family is not opposed to hunting, but they are opposed to “being woken up with gunfire raining down on us.”
A state official told The Globe that an individual could be charged with hunter harassment if they interfere with someone’s legal right to hunt.
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