STONINGTON, Conn. (AP) – Connecticut hunters and the state’s Environmental Protection Department are backing a bill that could end a ban on Sunday hunting that dates back to colonial times.

Both claim the extra day of hunting is needed as a wildlife management tool, to help cull the increasing numbers of deer that are flourishing in some parts of the state and have become a problem for homeowners and other species.

They’re hopeful some new faces on the legislature’s Environment Committee, coupled with growing public concern about problem wildlife and deer ticks, will help fuel support for Sunday hunting – an idea that has been shot down year after year at the state Capitol.

“It’s not that people want to wipe the herds out. They want to try and control it,” said Jeff Rathbun of Stonington, a state hunter safety instructor and avid hunter.

But animal rights activists and outdoor enthusiasts are opposing the bill, inundating lawmakers with e-mails. They claim allowing hunting on Sundays would take away the one day of the week when the majority, non-hunters, can enjoy the outdoors without fear of a stray bullet or arrow.

“We oppose any extension of hunting and, in fact, think it ought to be stopped the other six days of the week, much less throw them an extra day,” said Friends of Animals President Priscilla Feral. “I think the rights of these animals to go about their business of living should rise above having another day to shoot them to death.”

Connecticut is one of seven states that entirely prohibit hunting on Sundays. The others include Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Virginia and New Jersey. The vast majority of states allow Sunday hunting with no limitations.

A bill is up for a public hearing Friday that would allow the DEP commissioner to designate bow hunting on Sundays. It would only be on private lands, with permission of the landowners, where there is an overpopulation of certain wildlife. David Leff, an assistant DEP commissioner, said the agency is supporting proposed changes to the bill that would also allow rifle and muzzleloader hunting.

That would add three days of firearms hunting and 20 days of bow hunting. About 70 to 75 percent of deer are hunted using a rifle or shotgun while 20 to 22 percent are taken by bow and arrow, according to the Coalition of Connecticut Sportsmen.

Considering many more deer are bagged on Saturdays than weekdays, Leff said allowing hunting on Sunday should be successful because more hunters will be available.

The DEP wants to allow the limited Sunday hunting in three management zones. Two encompass the entire shoreline of Connecticut and greater Danbury. One includes the Naugatuck Valley. The legislation would allow the DEP commissioner to end Sunday hunting if he or she decides it is no longer necessary for management purposes.

“This is not going to be a wide-open hunting situation for anything and everything,” said Warren Speh, a hunting safety instructor for the past 20 years.

Speh, of North Stonington, said Connecticut has a long reputation of safe hunting. Most hunters, he said, play by the rules. They obtain proper licenses, request permission from private landowners, hunt only in season, wear proper gear such as fluorescent orange clothing and abide by the state bag limits. Most problems, he said, stem from illegal poachers.

Rep. Richard Roy, D-Milford, co-chairman of the Environment Committee, said the Sunday hunting bill stands a better chance of getting out of his committee this year because there is a new Senate co-chairman, Sen. William Finch, D-Bridgeport. Finch supports the bill.

“To me, it’s a blue law like banning Sunday liquor sales, and we shouldn’t have blue laws,” Finch said.

But Roy said he is still concerned about the safety of others in the woods, especially those on marked trails that run through private property.

“I’m a hiker and a camper and I like the argument that it’s nice to have one day to walk into the woods without bullets and arrows,” Roy said.

Robert Crook, president of the Coalition of Connecticut Sportsmen, said opponents of the bill are overstating the possible dangers of Sunday hunting to bird-watchers, hikers and others who may also be enjoying private lands.

“They walk in the woods on Saturday,” he said, “and they don’t get shot at.”