"I would support a state level and certainly a federal level ban on competitive hunting as well as other policies regarding animals,” Joel Helfrich of Rochester said. "I think quite honestly there are a lot of hunters that disagree with competitive hunting I think that quite honestly there's a lot of firemen that disagree with this policy.”
Yet speak to many who call the Village of Holley or the surrounding area home and you get quite a different viewpoint on this event.
"It's a way of life around here, some people don't realize the squirrels do, do some damage,” Ed Merritt of Holley said.
"The squirrels are a nuisance they do more damage than…they are fuzzy tailed rodents,” Alfred Pulcino of Holley said.
Some are also not welcoming to the protesters who arrived in town on Friday from the New York City area.
"People around here they do kill these animals but they eat them, they use their pelts, they're not going to waste and as far as these people? They can go back home where they come from,” said Urb Bennett of Kendall. “We don't go to their community and protest. All we want to do is come out here and be left alone.”
Holley Police are planning to address the media at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday. They’re expected to explain how they plan to accommodate protesters while not disrupting the squirrel hunt event.
"Not everyone likes everything that goes on in the world and you're entitled to your opinions,” Jody Forrest of Holley stated. “It is what it is, that's why we are what we are everyone has their opinion.”
