The House Game and Fisheries Committee met on June 16th to hear a report from the Legislative Budget and Finance Committee on the results of the study conducted pursuant to House Resolution 927 of last session. HR 927 directed the Committee to conduct a study on the social, economic, philosophical and practical impact in providing expanded hunting opportunities, including hunting on Sunday, in Pennsylvania.
Sunday hunting has been prohibited since 1873. Since then only crows, foxes and coyotes could be hunted on the seventh day.
Currently, 38 states allow unrestricted Sunday hunting. Three states allow limited Sunday hunting and four states bordering Pennsylvania have recently expanded Sunday hunting.
Brief results from the study:
· 53% of all licensed hunters support Sunday hunting with 85% choosing deer as the top choice for species
· 69% of landowners strongly opposed Sunday hunting
· Impact of Sunday hunting: $629 million economic impact, 5,300 new jobs and $18 million increased tax revenues
· Impact for two Sundays during regular deer season only: $185 million economic impact, 1,627 new jobs and $5.4million increased tax revenues
Download the full report at SundayHunting.pdf