One of the last vestiges of the state's Blue Laws could be weakened if a bill pending in the General Assembly to allow Sunday bow hunting for deer on private lands is approved.

The bill, which would maintain the ban on Sunday hunting on public lands, is supported by the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection as well as hunting and environmental groups including the Connecticut Fund for the Environment and The Nature Conservancy's Connecticut chapter.

"Please allow us to hunt on Sunday," wrote Andrew Grew of Waterford, one of more than two dozen hunters who submitted testimony during an Environment Committee public hearing Friday.

More than two dozen animal rights activists and the Humane Society submitted testimony opposing the bill, citing concerns about deer crippled by arrows and disruption of their enjoyment of the outdoors.

Karin Barth of Mystic wrote that she opposes the bill "because I want my one day of peace in the woods and because bow hunting is inhumane."

State Sen. Charles Ferraro, R-West Haven, the bill's sponsor, called the ban "unfair and anachronistic" and said that allowing Sunday hunting would create jobs in hunting-related businesses. Three years ago, the state lifted its long-standing ban on Sunday liquor sales, leaving the hunting ban as one of the few remaining Sunday restrictions.

The bill would allow hunters to use a bow and arrow or crossbow on private property with written permission of the owner, requiring that the hunting take place at least 40 yards from a blazed hiking trail. Dennis Schain, spokesman for DEEP, said the agency is advocating for the lifting the Sunday ban on private lands only, and that expanded opportunities for hunting are needed for people who work on Saturdays.

Susan Whalen, deputy commissioner of the DEEP, testified that Sunday bow hunting would help reduce the state's deer population to manageable levels. The current population is estimated at 120,000 deer, she said, that are over-browsing forests, causing decreases in songbird diversity and increases in invasive species. In addition, there are about 7,000 deer-vehicle accidents per year in the state, she said.

"Allowing Sunday archery hunting will make a difference, reducing deer density by 1 percent per year," she said. She added that there have been no cases of non-hunters being injured by bow hunters since passage of the Deer Management Act in 1974.

In 2014, about half of the 11,400 deer harvested by hunters were killed by archers, DEEP Commissioner Robert Klee said in written testimony.

Bob Crook, executive director of the Coalition of Connecticut Sportsmen, said his group has been working to get the Sunday hunting ban lifted for 25 years, and that this year's bill has the broadest support of any previous measure.

"Now we think we've got both sides of the legislature on board," he said. "We think it's got a good chance this year."

Archery hunting, he said, is growing in popularity because it can be done on property as small as an acre. Rifle hunting is only allowed on land 10 acres or larger.

"Bow hunters generally shoot from trees at a 45-degree angle, so there are no arrows going off into the distance," he said. At most, he said, an arrow travels about 20 yards from where it is shot.

Among animal rights advocates opposing the bill was Rosamund Downing of Pawcatuck, district leader for the state's 2nd Congressional District for the Humane Society of the United States. In written testimony, she said the 16-week Saturday hunting season is "more than sufficient" for hunters, and that the 99 percent of the state's population who are not hunters should not be deprived of tranquility when they're enjoying the outdoors on Sundays.

"We hikers, dog walkers and horseback riders also outspend hunters seven to one, thereby contributing far more to the state's economy," she said.

She added that bow hunting is "particularly inhumane."

"A wounded animal that wanders off the 'private property' would now surely die a prolonged, agonizing death," she said.

j.benson@theday.com

Twitter: @BensonJudy