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Terry Pratchett, the globally popular satirist, once admonished: “Never poke a badger with a spoon.”
While Pennsylvania may not have badgers, it does have a large and growing number of suburban and rural landowners who post their property against hunters, among others. It’s been years, decades, even generations now that we have heard the effect this action has had on hunting opportunities. Trespass was a key point in the battle (and make no mistake, it was a battle) over expanding hunting on Sunday.
So, what does the PGC and the groups that essentially hold undue influence over it go and do? They poke those rural and suburban landowners even before the latest battle was over by pushing an allowance for hunters to enter private lands to retrieve wayward hunting dogs.
I have not seen anything prior to this move to prove it was a concern, let alone one requiring action by the legislature. Where does the legislature get the authority to allow such to begin with?
The expansion of hunting on Sunday has not been given its field trials yet and the results of the rifle deer opener on Saturday is still to be judged as far as trespass goes. Both of those were major pokes and will have adverse ramifications.
I have no doubt that one, let alone all three of these actions are going to blow back on the hunting community, which is in dire straits as it is and can ill afford anymore set backs.
David Kveragas
Newton