Several more Sundays are available for game hunting this fall since Pennsylvania did away with more of the long-standing Sunday ban this summer.
State forests are open for hunting Sept. 14, the first Sunday after the law goes into effect this weekend. Hunting is to be permitted in state forests every Sunday after that through Dec. 7.
“Any game that’s in season may be hunted, with the exception of migratory game birds,” Pennsylvania Game Commission officials wrote.
The closest game lands to many local residents are in Upper Bucks: State Game Lands 139 in Richland Township and Top Rock State Game Lands in Haycock.
Private land may also be hunted on those Sundays with written permission from the landowner.
But Sunday hunting is to remain limited in state parks as the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources lifts the ban in phases. The three Sunday hunting dates for state parks are Nov. 16, 23, and 30.
Pennsylvania had banned Sunday hunting on state lands for more than a century as part of the so-called “blue laws” designed to reserve this day of the week for prayer and rest. The state first began allowing Sunday game hunting on three days per year in 2020.
Jess Rohan can be reached at jrohan@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Hunting season set to begin in PA — this year, with extra Sundays
Reporting by Jess Rohan, Bucks County Courier Times / Bucks County Courier Times
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
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