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Still has to pass the House of Reps and get signed by the Gov.
A few key Republican Senators in the Senate Appropriations committee were road blocks to the removal of this prohibition.
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United Bowhunters of Pennsylvania: 907 Derbyshire Avenue Mechanicsburg, PA 17055 Phone: (717) 766-3620 [email protected]
Testimony to PA House of Representatives Game and Fisheries Committee PA Senate Bill #147 September 10, 2019
The United Bowhunters of Pennsylvania (UBP) was founded in 1985 and is the statewide bowhunting organization advocating for the interests of the over 300,000 licensed Bow Hunters in our Commonwealth. The UBP is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the Preservation, Promotion, and Protection of bowhunting opportunities in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. We support game management based on sound biological principles and a "resource first" philosophy. We believe that the PA Game Commission, with its trained biologists and game management experts, should have full regulatory authority to set seasons and bag limits and are best suited to determine when game species are to be hunted. The UBP is opposed to the archaic Legislative Prohibition on Sunday Hunting. Although the UBP would have preferred to see PA Senate Bill #147 passed in its original unamended form, we are still in full support as it will expand hunting opportunities by removing the prohibition on hunting for three Sundays. The UBP considers SB #147 an acceptable first step, and will be in full support of all future legislation that works to put bag limits and hunting season decisions where these decisions belong, with the experts at the PA Game Commission.
Hunters are first and foremost conservationists of habitat and the flora and fauna of that habitat. Over 800,000 PA Hunters pay license fees in addition to an excise tax on ALL hunting related items via the Pittman Robertson Act of 1937. These fees support the purchase of public land that is then conserved and managed in a Trust to provide habitat for over 480 species of animal in PA. Because of hunter dollars, the PA Game Commission has been able to purchase over 2 Million Acres of state game land to conserve and manage. With the current Sunday Hunting Prohibition, those 2 Million acres are off limits to Hunting on Sunday and this is a discriminatory injustice against hunters.
In addition to the 2 Million Acres of State Game Land, there are Millions of privately owned acres of huntable land in PA. The idea that the PA General Assembly can arbitrarily prohibit lawful Pennsylvanians from hunting on their own private land is an oppression. Hunting is a lawful and wholesome pursuit with wide ranging benefits. The PA General Assembly is disallowing over 800,000 licensed hunters with the unreasonable and unjust Sunday Hunting Prohibition. Where is the logic of celebrating and participating in the tradition of hunting Monday-Saturday and then forbidding this beneficial activity on Sunday? It is an irrational prohibition that denies lawful Pennsylvanians the ability to participate in an activity that is legal six days a week, and denies landowners the right to use their own land to hunt on Sundays. The prohibition is a mistake of previous lawmakers and it must be corrected.
For many of the 800,000 licensed hunters in PA, the weekends are the only time they can get afield to hunt because they work five to six days a week or go to school and participate in extracurricular activities five to six days a week. Prohibiting one of those two days for workers and students is an unjust and unreasonable discrimination. Hunting is often a family activity, and an opportunity for a parent or mentor to teach young boys and girls how to be an ethical, responsible, and lawful citizen through hunting. Many parents and mentors must work on Saturday and much of the youth is involved with school sponsored extracurricular activities this, severely limits their time afield together.
Why does the PA General Assembly continue to suppress a celebrated, wholesome and beneficial outdoor activity? Please ask yourselves, why is Sunday prohibited? Why not Wednesday or Monday or Saturday? Why is only hunting prohibited on Sunday, why not other lawful recreations and activities? Why not prohibit Golf on Sunday or Fishing or Swimming? When you ask these types of questions you can see how completely arbitrary, how completely unjust, and how completely oppressive the prohibition on Sunday Hunting is and why the PA House of Representatives should vote yes on PA Senate Bill #147.
It is an honor to present this testimony and participate in our great democracy.
Sincerely, Thomas W. Redfern Legislative Chair United Bowhunters of PA Rick Conley President United Bowhunters of PA
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Bill v
A number of years ago, the farmer we rented a small home from, farmed the property across the road from us. Posted, got money for crop damage as well as shot deer for damage. Funny thing is, the only deer shot for damage were big buck.
