Legislation Proposes Lifting Pa. Sunday Hunting Ban
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PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Pennsylvania hunters are speaking out on a proposal to end the ban on Sunday hunting.
The longtime ban could be lifted under legislation under consideration in the general assembly.
Pennsylvania is one of three states in the country where hunting on Sunday is banned. Some hunters think it's time for a change.
"We can work on Sundays. We can fish on Sundays. We can pay taxes on Sundays, lot of things we can do on Sundays. I still feel Pennsylvania is back in the old days," hunter David Bolen said.
A statewide organization called Hunters United for Sunday Hunting, or H.U.S.H., is trying to replace the antiquated law.
"We are missing out on revenue. It will get worse because all of our neighbors now allow Sunday hunting, so we're going have Pennsylvanians that say, you know what, I'm not going to buy a hunting license in [Pennsylvania]. I can go to Ohio and West Virginia and hunt seven days," Harold Daub, with H.U.S.H., said.
State senator Jim Brewster is one of several sponsors of a bill supporting hunting on Sunday that could come up for a vote this spring.
"I just think it's foolish to waste $3 [million], $4 million in new revenue that we can use to work with the Farm Bureau. We'll use some of that money for enforcement. We'll prevent more people from encroaching on farm property," Brewster said.
If passed, the state Game Commission would control Sunday hunting.
The bill does have its detractors, including the state Farm Bureau and some hiking organizations.
"I would never support a law that would limit hikers or bikers or horseback riders, and I would ask that they not support this law that restricts Pennsylvania hunters, even on their own land," Daub said.
