Summary: The Delaware General Assembly has adjourned sine die for the 2026 session. Victories for our outdoor heritage were secured, including the repeal of the antiquated Sunday hunting ban, critical wildlife modernization, and licensing reforms.
Last week on July 1, the 153rd Delaware General Assembly officially adjourned sine die. This means the session is officially over. Throughout the session, the Sportsmen’s Alliance monitored several pieces of legislation impacting hunting, fishing, and trapping in the First State.
Below are two sportsmen-related bills that completed the legislative process and were signed into law.
- HB 278 (Sunday Hunting): This is a biggest win for Delaware sportsmen in decades. It repeals the antiquated blue laws that restricted hunting on Sundays, officially opening all legal game animals and game birds to Sunday hunting during established seasons. It also modernizes equipment regulations by simplifying straight-wall ammunition calibers for deer hunting and ensures private landowners and public agencies retain full local discretion over hunting access on their properties.
- HB 412 (Hunting, Trapping, and Wildlife Reform): This comprehensive package officially clarifies that dogs may be used to track or recover wounded deer, permits the lawful sale of taxidermy and antlers, and codifies the requirement that individuals who are legally exempt from acquiring a hunting or trapping license must still complete a department-approved safety and education program.
Review a complete list of monitored bills via the Interactive Legislative Map.
Why We Must Stay Vigilant
While lawmakers have packed up for the year and all pending, stalled bills are officially dead, our work is far from over. Anti-hunting groups are constantly searching for backdoors to lock us out of public lands, outlaw essential conservation tools, and choke our heritage with red tape.
History proves that when outdoor enthusiasts drop their guard, radical animal-rights groups capitalize on the silence. We cannot sit back and let a loud, highly organized minority rewrite the rules of our outdoor heritage.
Defending the Future of Our Wildlife
As sportsmen, we are the true frontline guardians of a lifestyle that is increasingly coming under political fire. While we are actively funding conservation and managing the land, anti-sportsmen groups are busy filling public hearings at the capitol or commission meeting to erase our way of life. The threats we face today are unprecedented. It is time for our community to stand together, match their energy, and fiercely protect our right to hunt, fish, and trap. This is how we ensure the legacy we inherited is preserved for our kids, grandkids, and generations to come.
Please forward this alert to your family, friends, and fellow hunters. Urge them to join you and the Sportsmen’s Alliance to defend our outdoor freedom in the First State.
The Sportsmen’s Alliance guarantees hunting, fishing, and trapping for the American sportsman now and forever. We’re there when sportsmen need us most. We are the only organization specifically created to protect the individual hunter, angler, and trapper – no matter the threat. We will never compromise when it comes to defending our way of life in the courts, in the legislatures, in the public square, and at the ballot box. We make this promise to the American sportsman: we will never give up and never give in while proudly securing our future against those seeking to destroy our values, beliefs, and traditions.
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