Update:  Sadly, it is no longer possible to keep Sundays safe for hikers and wildlife in Pennsylvania.  We deeply appreciate everyone who signed our petition, uploaded videos, and contacted your lawmakers.

On July 9, Governor Shapiro signed this horrible bill into law.  The best course of action we can see now is to urge lawmakers to remove hunters from state parks altogether.  If we can't have our own day, then we should be entitled to our own spaces.  The heavy bias in favor of hunters, who are only a minority of Pennsylvania residents, cannot be allowed to stand.

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The PA Senate is reconsidering a bill to allow Sunday hunting in our state.  If passed, this will mean hunting in State Parks and other State Lands will be permitted on Sundays.  Hunting is now permitted 6 days a week, September through the end of January for deer and many additional days for rabbits, geese, and other species.

Hikers, walkers, birders, bikers, horseback riders and family outings (and of course wildlife) in our PA parks and other natural areas will now be negatively impacted 7 days a week, including the one day that has typically been safe and pleasurable for us and the wildlife.  The majority of Pennsylvanians, over 92%, do not hunt, yet pay taxes that go towards maintaining our state parks and open areas.  Unfortunately, the majority of us appear to have little say in how our rights are represented when it comes to state lands and wildlife management, that is why it’s even more important for us to speak out loudly and clearly.

Those supporting increased hunting are willfully ignorant of the peer-reviewed science that has proven hunting will not stabilize numbers, but will increase numbers as more food becomes available within the vacuum created.  Then more kills are encouraged by the agencies that gain from such. There is NO peer reviewed, scientific research to prove that hunting works, but it does generate money through licenses and gear.

Lifting the prohibition diminishes outdoor opportunities for non-consumptive users to enjoy our rich natural resources.  Sunday is the one day a week during hunting seasons that people can freely enjoy the Pennsylvania outdoors without worrying about encountering stray arrows or bullets, or the sight of a wounded, crippled animal.

Even if Sunday hunting is only allowed on private property, bullets and arrows certainly do not stop at property lines.  Our members report instances to us where they have had trespassers on their land and are often forced to dress their kids and pets in blaze orange to go outdoors, sometimes even into their own backyards.  Dogs and horses are sometimes mistaken for game animals

Please stand up for the rights of the majority of Pennsylvanians who are NOT hunters!