What I Expected When I Moved to VT vs Reality

A Vegan/Animal Advocate's Perspective on Vermont

When you think about Vermont, what comes to mind? Rolling green hills, bucolic scenes, peace and quiet, friendly people, eco-conscious/crunchy-granola hippy types, Bernie Sanders?

That's what I used to think, too! And living in New England my whole life, you'd think I'd have a pretty good idea. But no...

It turns out that Vermont is pretty backwards, particularly when it comes to the "crunchy granola" aspects of life.

In the 7 months I've lived here, I've become completely disillusioned! 

Hunting

It turns out that Vermont has some of the most regressive hunting laws in the country. Bear hounding is allowed basically all year, except in winter (cause hibernation), and hounds are allowed to make all kinds of noise all day and all night long. Often terrorizing pets and "non-targeted" wildlife. Often, the dogs themselves are injured and the hunter is miles away. It's, in a word, vile.

Leg-hold traps and baiting are the norm. Not only are these methods outdated, they're absolutely horrific! And, unlike most - if not all - other states, hunting is basically all year long. Hounding, leg-hold traps, and baiting are also illegal in most other states, including neighboring MA and around 40 other states.

F&W is Unethical

Even worse, the F&W Dept, which is supposed to protect wildlife, is actually on the side of hunters. They refuse to regulate even the most basic things like wanton waste. 

Plus, they don't follow their own rules. In recent incident, a board member who's term was up, making him no longer eligible to vote, came to a meeting to vote on a change that would have put some actual protections in place and VOTED! The vote was entered and, as far as I know, considered legal and binding. Emailing the governor and other state legislative bodies had no effect. They give lip service to caring, but take very little action. 

And speaking of politicians, Bernie Sanders, the lovable old dude with mittens at Biden's inauguration, he's a member of at least one hunting group. His public image would have you think otherwise.

How can organizations like Protect our Wildlife or people like me who support them, make any progress when the governing body doesn't even follow laws already on the books? How can we create a state that matches its image when legislative bodies refuse to back up their words with action?

Preventing Hunting on Your Land

Maybe none of that bothers you provided it's not on your property. Guess what? In Vermont, the only way to ensure that doesn't happen is to "post it" using F&W's very specific rules. And if hunters decide they want to hunt on your land, they'll just destroy the sign. It's up to your local game warden if they'll accept that's what happened and go after the hunter or not - most don't. 

In addition, posting land is physically demanding and must be updated yearly. As such, it's not always possible for every homeowner. Plus, in the case of hounding, dogs cannot read signs! With the hunter often miles way, land-owners are basically helpless to keep hounding off their property.

By contrast, in MA, hunters are "strongly encouraged" to get written permission from land owners prior to hunting, and "posting" land is one sign once, not a zillion of them along the property lines (which many people don't know the location of). Land-owners in MA, can, of course, put up more than one sign, but there is no requirement to do so, nor to update them yearly or ensure their condition, all of which is required in VT.

VT also requires people posting their land to register it with the town, and pay $5 for the privilege. MA, by contrast, does not. Hunters have all the rights in VT. In MA, land owners do, which, I think, is how it should be. As land-owner's we're paying taxes and should have the right to keep out any and all activities we desire.

F&W's Role

Basically F&W's answer to everything is "kill it." In one local incident, a baby bear without the use of its rear legs managed to find its way onto someone's property and seemed to be doing a fine job of thriving despite the rear legs. It ate, climbed trees, etc. 

The well-meaning, but unaware, home-owners wanted to help. They called our local game warden as well as a bear rehab place in NH. (Note: in Vermont it is ILLEGAL for rehabbers to take bears, deer, or other "game" animals. In my research so far, VT is the only state with this regulation, but I've not looked at all 50 states yet.) 

Unfortunately, the rehabber wouldn't take it because the legs would not be able to be rehabilitated. When the warden arrived at the home-owner's residence unannounced, the bear was not there (thankfully). However, the warden stated it would have to be "put down." 

Fortunately, before this could happen, we had some pretty torrential rain and flooding which caused the bear to move on. I pray daily that it's safe! And I truly don't see any reason this bear, who was hurting no one, doing a perfectly fine job of surviving, and didn't seem to be in any pain needed to be put down. It was not interacting with humans or posing a threat to anyone.

Honestly, the longer I'm here, the more furious and depressed I become. And the more furious and depressed I become, the more I speak out. Because that's all I know how to do, even though it's exhausting and frequently discouraging. Even though I'm not sure how long I can do it...I can't not do it.

Residents Allow/Encourage Hurtful and Unethical Policies

The belief that animals are less than us, that it's okay to hurt, abuse, and destroy wildlife and nature is so entrenched here that every time I speak out, I'm bullied by the people who hold those beliefs. As is everyone else who speaks up.

Largely, they're "native" (meaning born here, not actually indigenous) Vermonters who think those of us who are "transplants" are "flatlanders" out to ruin "their way of life." There's no having a rational conversation with most of these people, at least for me. The emotions are too high on both sides.

Further, in questioning the power company about their tree-trimming policies and how they ensure birds and other wild kin are safe, I was lied to numerous times. Things they promised they would do, they didn't. Things they said the didn't do, they did.

I'm disgusted, quite frankly. This is not what I thought Vermont was about. This is not what I thought Vermont stood for.

Noise

Also, it's very much NOT quiet. Maybe some places in the Northeast Kingdom are, but largely, it's not. For a state with basically no night life outside the Burlington area, which is 2.5 hrs from me, I find it both puzzling and annoying that cars are whipping by my house non-stop. 

There's nothing open after 9pm or before 7/8am. There's no reason I can fathom for there to be traffic on the road at midnight, 3am, etc. By 6:30am on weekdays and 7:30am on weekends, it's fairly constant and absolutely unbearable! I live in a small town, not a city. It make no sense. I frequently resort to wearing earplugs during the day and turning the TV up way louder than I'd like just to get through the day.

At first, I thought this was because I live on a state highway, but in talking with other folks both in Newfane and around the state, it's not. Even the AirBnB on a dirt road where the kitties and I stayed for one night before we were able to move into the house had traffic all night long. 

There's also an F35 base in Burlington. The base is loud in that area all the time. In addition, for the entire month of June, they do training runs, which shake the house, in the south eastern region, where I live. This is disruptive to say the least!

July 4th, while quieter than it was in NH, was still not fireworks-free, despite all but the sparkler kinds being illegal to use in the state of VT. Some areas of Vermont were even worse than where I live. Again, there's no enforcement of laws on the books by anyone, anywhere. 

Noise pollution isn't just annoying for me, it's bad for wildlife, pollinators, etc.

Vermont is basically New England's equivalent of the wild west with a pretty shine on it.

Farming

I haven't even delved into this yet. Vermont is most definitely a dairy-friendly state, though access to vegan food isn't the worst in the country. Even the general store/deli in my small town has a few options. We're also lucky to have lots of farm sanctuaries and Destination Liberation/Jason Bolalek, who rescues male baby cows from the certain death of the dairy industry.

That said, if you're vegan, you're still considered radical here. People will try to get confrontational with you about it. They'll try to "mansplain" (even if they're female by birth or identity), that VT is very conscious of "animal ag" and that they're "small farms" who care about their animals and treat them ethically. Completely ignoring the fact that ethical treatment would mean not separating babies and parents, not killing animals before their natural lifespan, etc. 

Again, you can TRY to talk to them, but emotions run high and if you weren't born here, you're a "flatlander." As a result, your opinion is less important, your views less valued, and to a degree, you're an "invader trying to change their way of life."

Diversity

Not specifically related to animals, but in general VT is not a diverse state, culturally or racially. I was raised Jewish, though I don't necessarily practice much, in a small town where my family was the only Jewish one for a long time. So, I didn't think it mattered to me. Maybe because I feel so attacked for all my other views, but it matters more here. I'm dreading the winter holidays and craving acceptance of any kind more than I can explain.

Will You Like Living Here?

I moved here for quiet, for trees, for wildlife, for nature, for peace, for acceptance, for a community of like-minded people.

What I got, was not that! The green mountains are beautiful, and there are some like-minded folks, for sure - and I'm profoundly grateful I've connected with them. But we're basically scattered throughout the state and doing our best to create some change. In the face of the bullies, the "deaf ears" of those in power, and the overall cultural bias, it feels pretty fruitless a lot of the time.

Yes, some of my oddities are accepted - like going on adventures with my plushie friends and taking pics for my author social media pages - but mostly, I feel judged and like I don't belong.

I haven't made any decision about my future in VT, yet. I'm too upset and emotional to make an informed one. I need to heal and am actively working on that. I need to get passed the idea that if I opt to move somewhere else that means I've failed Mother Nature and the wild kin, that the like-minded folks here will be mad at me or "hate me." 

I need to get passed the idea that if I decide to stay I have to keep screaming into the void at every opportunity...or become comfortable with doing so. It's possible, once I've done my healing work, that I can step back a little without feeling like I've "failed," but not right now.

Right now, I don't know what the future is for my living situation. What I do know is that it won't be in my current house (that was already known) and that wherever it winds up being, I'll have done the work I need to do on myself for it to be the next right step for me.

I do know that I'll always be an advocate for all those needing a voice - animal kin, Nature, minorities, etc - through my books and through a non-profit I'm starting, which focuses on education. And in the meantime, I'll keep being a loud voice for change - I couldn't live with myself if I stopped right now, and I've never been one to back down from a fight. And who knows...maybe things will change and I'll feel better about the state.

To quote Pink, that's all I know so far. And that's okay for now.

If you're considering a move to Vermont, definitely think about your reasons for it. If you're looking for similar things I was, it might not be the place for you. If you're excited about diving into the fray and advocating for changes, you'll love it here! And we need you!