“We’re finally free of the British,” said Pennsylvania state Rep. Bill Kortz (D).
Pennsylvania legislators have successfully brought a bill before the state senate that would end the prohibition on hunting on Sundays. The prohibition predates the founding of the United States.
Even 80 years ago the state’s legislators voted on whether or not to repeal the prohibition, and while they permitted fishing on Sundays, the restriction on hunting remained in place.
Legislators and hunters alike say that the prohibition inadvertently promotes, rather than discourages, trespassing and poaching.
“Hunters with permission to hunt are almost always the first line of defense against trespassing and poaching,” said Thomas W. Redfern, legislative chair of United Bowhunters of Pennsylvania. “Legal, ethical hunters are the eyes and ears that help law enforcement against trespassers and poachers,” he said.
“Will legalized Sunday hunting reduce trespassing? Absolutely yes,” he said. “But not because of some Farm Bureau compromise trespass language, but by allowing legal, ethical hunters to be in the woods on Sunday protecting the resource, respecting the rights of landowners and reporting any trespassing poachers they encounter.”
Most states that have had “blue laws” and other prohibitions against hunting on Sundays have repealed the laws without any issues. Because of that, the bill placed a focus on trespass laws.
The Pennsylvania Farm Bureau, which represents local and family farms in addition to large agribusinesses, brought forward a list of conditions within the bill to prevent hunters from getting onto properties where they’re unwelcome.
Under the proposed law, hunters will need permission in writing to hunt on private property using a system set in place by the state game commission. Property owners will have a new pathway to file complaints with law enforcement and allow officers and wardens onto their property following any complaints.
The bill and its three amendments are scheduled for reexamination by the state senate and a vote on Nov. 18. If the Senate votes in its favor it will head to the governor’s desk on the same day.
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“I’m from the Mon Valley. There’s a lot of hunters down there. I think they support this,” said Rep. Kortz. “To me, it’s a property rights issue. We just want to hunt on our own land [on Sundays] — that’s the other way to look at it. People who hunt on public land in Allegheny National Forest where there are no farms, why can’t they hunt on Sundays?”
Klint Macro, speaking for the Allegheny County Sportsmen’s League, said he hopes that non-hunters can appreciate a greater mixed use of the state’s wilderness, and to “pay attention to your surroundings and enjoy your hike or bike ride,” while keeping an eye out for hunters.
“For an extra ounce of safety, wearing an orange hat would increase your ability to be seen while enjoying our Penn’s Woods,” said Macro. “I make sure every time my child plays in the woods behind our house during hunting season, he has on his orange hat.”