At its recent Committee meeting, the Pennsylvania Senate Game and Fisheries Committee amended a bill that would have had serious implications for those who hunt with dogs. The proposed legislation makes changes to the laws related to trespassing on private property while hunting.
As originally propose, Senate Bill 1087 would have made changes to the laws related to trespassing on private property while hunting. Even if unarmed, a hunter would have not only been trespassing if they went on posted property to retrieve a dog, but would also be charged with trespassing if their dog strayed onto posted property. See previous alert.
In the Committee meeting, the bill was amended to remove the language related to dogs entering posted property and reinstated the exemption in current law that allows for an unarmed hunter to retrieve their dog.
AKC would like to thank all those who contacted the members of the Senate Game and Fisheries Committee regarding the legislation and encourages you to contact the Committee members and share your appreciation of their support.
The bill now moves to the full Senate for consideration. Should you like to share comments with members of the full Senate, you may do so by clicking here.
AKC Government Relations will continue to closely monitor this bill and communicate with the General Assembly. For more information, contact doglaw@akc.org.