PA State Senate devises sensible Sunday hunting plan

Hitting the mark: State Senate devises sensible Sunday hunting plan

Pennsylvania’s anachronistic near-total ban on Sunday hunting is a vestige of a bygone era

 

THE EDITORIAL BOARD
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette



JUL 2, 2019
5:54 AM


Pennsylvania’s anachronistic near-total ban on Sunday hunting is a vestige of a bygone era. The state Senate is getting with the times.

On June 26, the Senate passed compromise legislation that would allow hunting on up to three Sundays a year. Many wanted more but three is better than zero. Now, the House should pass the measure and Gov. Tom Wolf should sign it.

Initially part of a package of “blue laws” aimed at promoting church attendance, the hunting ban theoretically was a nod to a Bible-based endorsement of a day of rest and spiritual contemplation for the family.

This notion fails on several levels. Many Pennsylvanians are not Christian, and even some who are do not adhere to this interpretation of the Bible. Sunday hunting and church-going aren’t mutually exclusive. A day in communion with family and with God can happen as easily in the woods as in some other popular Sunday venues.

Pennsylvania is one of only three states that haven’t lifted a general no-Sunday-hunting ban. Some limited hunting in Pennsylvania — coyotes and crows, for example — currently is allowed.

For the first time in two decades, a Senate bill authorizing the state Game Commission to regulate Sunday hunting made it out of committee; the Senate Game and Fisheries Committee approved the bipartisan proposal sponsored by Sen. Jim Brewster, D-McKeesport, and Sen. Dan Laughlin, R-Erie. A spokesman for Mr. Brewster said June 28 that the initial proposal called for more hunting days but “this is a start.”

One concern is the safety of walkers, hikers and those who want to otherwise play in the woods. But this is a concern that applies seven days a week. It could be argued that Saturday frolicking in the woods may be more popular than Sunday frolicking, yet there is no Saturday ban.

Those who recreate in Pennsylvania’s wooded areas have found a way to safely coexist with hunters Monday through Saturday. And for those who felt Sunday was the single day of the week they could safely go into the woods without worrying about hunters, there’s a simple precaution: wear blaze orange. Other states with safety concerns engaged in a test run of Sunday hunting, found it worked fine and lifted their bans.

The Pennsylvania Farm Bureau historically has opposed Sunday hunting for a reason that applies to the other six days of the week as well: trespass. Some hunters (and others) illegally trespass on private land. For farmers, that can mean crops being trampled at certain times of the year. For them, six days a week of hunting is better than seven days a week.

The solution is to boost trespass fines and strip hunting privileges from repeat offenders.

There are some very good reasons to expand hunting opportunities for Pennsylvanians: It is a worthy family pastime; it’s a low-cost way of putting meat on the table; and it helps with wildlife management. Also, the money spent by hunters — on licenses and by virtue of taxes on the sale of hunting equipment — helps to fund the Game Commission. A robust Game Commission better manages wildlife, which, in turn, improves our parks and wilderness areas.

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