Gov. Shapiro signs new law lifting ban of Sunday hunting in Pa.

• By Jaxon White/LNP | LancasterOnline

After decades of debate between lawmakers, sportsmen, farmers and other outdoor recreationalists, Pennsylvania’s longstanding near-total ban on Sunday hunting has been lifted.

Gov. Josh Shapiro on Wednesday signed the new law repealing the ban dating back to 1873. It was one of the last “blue laws” in Pennsylvania that barred certain activities on Sundays.

Shapiro called the ban an outdated “relic of the earliest days” of Pennsylvania.

“This is a common sense change that gives hunters more freedom to choose when they want to head into the woods,” Shapiro said, surrounded by hunters, lawmakers and advocates at Blue Ridge Sportsman Club in Harrisburg before he signed the law lifting the ban.

Shapiro said the new law will increase opportunities for families to “introduce younger generations to the tradition of hunting.”

The repeal goes into effect in 60 days, just in time for the opening of deer season this September.

Hunting foxes, coyotes and crows has always been allowed on any day of the week. And the General Assembly expanded access to hunting in 2019 by allowing the state Game Commission to pick three Sundays annually for hunters to hit the woods.

The Game Commission now can allow hunting turkey, bear, deer and other game on any in-season Sunday. The new law puts Pennsylvania among 39 other states to have no limitations on Sunday hunting.

Steve Smith, executive director of the Game Commission, said which Sundays will be opened for hunting has not been determined.

Supporters – including bill sponsor Rep. Mandy Steele, an Allegheny County Democrat, and Sen. Dan Laughlin, an Erie Republican who backed the Senate’s version of the bill – have said Sunday hunting could provide an economic boost to rural areas and allow busy families more opportunities to hunt.

The Pennsylvania Farm Bureau, after opposing Sunday hunting for years, flipped its position last year, saying more hunting could reduce wildlife populations and help farmers protect their crops from damage.

Shapiro touted those same benefits Wednesday. His office said Pennsylvania is home to the second-most licensed hunters (some 850,000) in the country, behind Texas.

Those who maintained their opposition to Sunday hunting this year, including some outdoor recreation groups, said people should be able to enjoy at least one day of the week in nature without concern of hunters being out.

But Shapiro’s administration on Wednesday said that since the 2019 expansion, Pennsylvania has seen no increase in safety incidents between hunters and outdoor recreationalists.

The approved repeal came after months of back and forth between the House and Senate, which passed the final version of the bill earlier this month after removing certain provisions.

The legislation also includes stricter penalties for trespassing hunters, and it requires Sunday hunters to have written permission from landowners stating they’re permitted to be on the owner’s property.