NEW LAW TAKES EFFECT TO ALLOW GUN-MOUNTED LIGHTS FOR PREDATOR HUNTERS
HARRISBURG - Effective Sept. 1, Pennsylvania furbearer hunters may use gun-mounted lights when furbearer hunting, according to Pennsylvania Game Commission Bureau of Wildlife Protection Director Richard Palmer. The change in law took effect following Governor Edward G. Rendell's signing of House Bill 881, sponsored by Rep. Gary Haluska (D-Cambria), on July 3.
Now Act 26, the new law was first approved in House by a vote of 195-2 on May 21. The Senate approved an amended version of the bill by a vote of 50-0 on June 27, and the House concurred with the amended bill by a vote of 195-3 on July 2.
Supported by the Pennsylvania Predator Hunters Association, the new law permits those hunting for furbearers, including coyotes, foxes, bobcats, raccoons, skunks, opossums and weasels.
"Safety is paramount, never point the muzzle of a gun in a direction you do not plan to shoot and identify your target," urged Ernest G. Wilson, Pennsylvania Predator Hunters Association president. "The use of a hat-mounted light or hand-held light should be used for scanning to locate predators. The gun-mounted light should never be used for scanning for predators. However, once a predator is spotted, the gun-mounted light is then utilized for proper identification and shot placement for a humane kill."
The new law stipulates that furbearer hunters still may not use a flashlight or spotlight that projects a laser-light beam.
Senate Game and Fisheries Committee Chairman Charles McIlhinney (R-Bucks) offered the amendment to the bill, which included language to permit farmers to hire individuals to assist with killing deer for crop damage on their properties. This new provision also takes effect on Sept. 1.
Created in 1895 as an independent state agency, the Game Commission is responsible for conserving and managing all wild birds and mammals in the Commonwealth, establishing hunting seasons and bag limits, enforcing hunting and trapping laws, and managing habitat on the 1.4 million acres of State Game Lands it has purchased over the years with hunting and furtaking license dollars to safeguard wildlife habitat. The agency also conducts numerous wildlife conservation programs for schools, civic organizations and sportsmen's clubs.
The Game Commission does not receive any general state taxpayer dollars for its annual operating budget. The agency is funded by license sales revenues; the state's share of the federal Pittman-Robertson program, which is an excise tax collected through the sale of sporting arms and ammunition; and monies from the sale of oil, gas, coal, timber and minerals derived from State Game Lands.
