LETTER TO PGC COMMISSIONERS - SUNDAYS TO SEASONS IN VIRGINIA ARE BENEFICIAL - NAYSAYER CONCERNS NOT REALIZED

 

CONTACT: Hunters United for Sunday Hunting

TELEPHONE: 717-350-6741

EMAIL: huntersforsundayhunting@gmail.com

WEBSITE: facebook.com/HuntersUnitedForSundayHunting

         Dear Pennsylvania Board of Game Commissioners,

Please find attached a letter I was provided some time ago regarding the impact of adding Sundays to hunting seasons.  I thought this would be good information for all of you to have in preparation for your upcoming meetings as you look at how/when to implement Sunday hunting here in Pennsylvania.  Please feel free to share as you feel appropriate.

 

I've taken the liberty of highlighting what I felt were the important comments contained in the letter, which was sent from Executive Director Bob Duncan of the Commonwealth of Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries to the Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation in 2016.  This was written after the Virginia Sunday hunting inclusion had been in place for about 2 years.

 

Executive Director Duncan stated the following:

 

Virginia elected to largely leave hunting seasons in place as they had existed previously.  They also elected to not change bag limits.

 

Sunday hunting had no detrimental impact upon their deer herd.  And he went on to write that average deer harvests for Sundays more closely approximated the averages for weekdays and far less than Saturdays.  He details that archery and muzzle loader Sundays realized about 50% of a Saturday harvest.  And the Sunday harvest in rifle season in Virginia was roughly 20% of a typical Saturday.

 

He also stated that turkey harvests on Sunday approximated weekday averages.

 

Also included in his comments are Virginia's findings regarding law enforcement activity.  Many had/have concerns about the undue burden Sunday hunting opportunity might have on law enforcement.  In Virginia, those fears were not realized.  Hunting related calls to law enforcement dispatch on Sundays were similar to an average weekday, and in fact only increased modestly from the amount of calls that were received on Sundays prior to the change.  Hunting related arrests trended similarly as well.

 

He closed by stating "In Sum, I can say that Virginia's experience so far with Sunday hunting is that of additional opportunities for sportsmen and women in the field without unacceptable impacts upon our wildlife resources, notable increases in citizen complaints, or other serious law enforcement concerns."

 

I would like to close by saying thank you to each of you for your sacrifice and dedication to conservation.  The efforts each of you put into your position as a PGC Commissioner are appreciated by so many of us Pennsylvania hunters.  Thank you!

 

Kindest Regards,

 

Harold Daub

HUSH Legislative/PGC Advisor

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - HUNTERS UNITED FOR SUNDAY HUNTING SUPPORTS THE PENNSYLVANIA GAME COMMISSION CHANGES AND UPDATES TO THE LICENSE YEAR 2018-19 HUNTING AND TRAPPING SEASONS.

CONTACT: Hunters United for Sunday Hunting

TELEPHONE: 717-350-6741

EMAIL: huntersforsundayhunting@gmail.com

WEBSITE: facebook.com/HuntersUnitedForSundayHunting

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

HUNTERS UNITED FOR SUNDAY HUNTING SUPPORTS THE PENNSYLVANIA GAME COMMISSION CHANGES AND UPDATES TO THE LICENSE YEAR 2018-19 HUNTING AND TRAPPING SEASONS.

    

PA GAME COMMISSION 2018-19 SEASON CHANGES, UPDATES, AND APPROVAL CAN BE VIEWED AT:

http://www.media.pa.gov/Pages/Game-Commission-Details.aspx?newsid=208

https://read.nxtbook.com/pgc/huntingtrapping/20182019/index.html#update

Halifax, Pa. July 5, 2018 – Hunters United for Sunday Hunting recognizes and supports the Pa. Game Commission in their wildlife management efforts.  Their science and biological-based wildlife management programs have proven effective year after year earning a second place ranking in the nation as written in the journal Science Advance. https://www.facebook.com/PennsylvaniaGameCommission/posts/1819133508118533

Pa. Game Commission modifications approved for the 2018-19 seasons include: extending the statewide archery deer season to Monday, Nov. 12 to include the Veterans Day holiday; eliminating the hen pheasant restriction in WMUs 2A, 2C, 4C, and 5B; implementing a new four-day extended black bear firearms season in WMUs 4A and 5A; increasing from four days to six days the length of the extended black bear firearms season in WMU 3A; extending hunting hours for mourning doves from one-half hour before sunrise until sunset in all season segments; and opening WMUs 4B and 4C to fisher trapping.

The Pa. Game Commission has been managing Pennsylvania's wildlife for over 100 years.

Hunters United for Sunday Hunting asks:

• All hunters, sportsmen, sportswomen, outdoor enthusiasts, conservationist and all other like-minded people to trust the PGC as the subject matter experts and to understand without them, we would not be able to enjoy nature and our sport as we know it.
• Pa. legislatures to recognize and understand that you as lawmakers have no experience or expertise in the arena of wildlife management, non-hunted or hunted species. We encourage you to support legislative action to transfer full regulatory control to Pa. Game Commission and strengthen PA Title 34 Game Law.  Streamlining of the law puts full management and conservation in the hands of the experts - Pa. Game Commission. The transfer of full regulatory control to Pa. Game Commission is the best solution for game management in Pa.

Hunters United for Sunday Hunting is asking for the removal of the prohibition of Sunday hunting in PA Title 34 Game Law and allow the Pennsylvania Game Commission to decide what is best for Sunday hunting, not the Pa. legislatures.

Hunters United for Sunday Hunting is a conservation group that supports all conservation efforts for all wildlife in Pennsylvania, both hunted and non-hunted species.

Mission Statement - Remove the prohibition of Sunday hunting in PA Title 34 Game Law through education, and influence legislatures to change the law accordingly.

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For more information about this topic, please contact Hunters United for Sunday Hunting at 717-350-6741 or email at huntersforsundayhunting@gmail.com.  View our Blog - https://huntersforsundayhunting.blogspot.com/

Executive Director Harold Daub, Communication Director Kevin Askew