Legislation allowing hunting on up to three Sundays each year was signed into law Wednesday, according to Senator Dan Laughlin (R-49), prime sponsor of the measure.
The new law provides for hunting on three Sundays: one during rifle deer season, one during the statewide archery deer season and one on a Sunday determined by the Pennsylvania Game Commission. The measure makes trespassing while hunting a primary offense and increases the penalties for the offense. The new law further provides that hunters must have the written permission of the landowner to hunt on private property on any Sunday.
“Lifting the archaic ban on Sunday hunting in Pennsylvania has been a long time in coming, 337 years, in fact,” said Senator Laughlin, Chairman of the Senate Game & Fisheries Committee. “I want to thank my colleague, Senator Jim Brewster, the Democratic Chairman of the Game & Fisheries Committee for his support of this measure and I truly appreciate the hard work of the hunters and the many organizations who helped make this law a reality. In the end, we were able to bring the various stakeholders together and work out a compromise that gives sportsmen and sportswomen more opportunities to enjoy the activity that they love.”
