Steele: Time to end Sunday hunting ban in Pennsylvania
Rep. Mandy Steele March 10, 2025 | 3:40 PM
HARRISBURG, March 10 -- Continuing her efforts to conserve Pennsylvania’s wildlife resources, state Rep. Mandy Steele has introduced a bill to repeal the prohibition on Sunday hunting and require at least one member of the Pennsylvania Game Commission to have a background in agriculture.
“For more than 100 years, the Game Commission has been charged with managing, protecting and conserving our state’s wildlife resources for all Pennsylvanians,” said Steele, D-Allegheny. “The abundant wildlife we enjoy here is a direct result of the agency’s efforts, along with the state’s hunters, who help preserve the state’s forests for future generations.
“Farmers also contribute to our heritage, not only with the industry’s significant contributions to the state’s economy, but also to our wildlife. My bill would give hunters more opportunities and ensure farmers have their voices heard in how our wildlife is managed,” Steele said.
The bill would not require Sundays to be used for deer rifle season; it simply would remove the prohibition from state law. The Game Commission would continue to be the deciding entity for whether hunting season should be allowed on Sundays.
“Hunting supports tens of thousands of jobs, providing more than a half-billion in wages and contributes more than $1.6 billion in annual economic activity, not to mention feeding countless families. Permitting Sunday hunting would only continue that positive impact,” she said.
The bill also would ensure that the Game Commission board also has the knowledge of agriculture wildlife management at its disposal during its decision-making process by having a board member with agriculture experience who can help ensure farmers have their voices heard.
“A quarter of our state’s land is devoted to agriculture -- more than 7 million acres; it makes sense that farmers’ viewpoints are considered where wildlife management is concerned,” she said.
Steele has been working to end the restriction on Sunday hunting since she became a state representative in 2023. She has developed a broad base of advocates in support of the measure, including individual hunters, the Pennsylvania Game Commission, Hunter Nation, Hunters United for Sunday Hunting and the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau. A similar bill she introduced last session passed the House, but did not see action in the state Senate before the session ended.
Steele’s bill (H.B. 851) has been referred to the House Game and Fisheries Committee for review.