The Gun Counter

Group to explore impact of Sunday hunting
By Bob Frye
TRIBUNE-REVIEW OUTDOORS EDITOR
Monday, October 6, 2008

Is allowing hunting on Sundays the way to reverse the sport's decline in Pennsylvania?

One group is interested in finding out.

Gov. Ed Rendell's Advisory Council for Hunting, Fishing and Conservation wants to hear from sportsmen and others "about how to improve the hunting experience in Pennsylvania."

Specifically, though, the group is interested in the Sunday hunting question.

According to the council, hunting license sales fell 28 percent between 1981 and 2007. Projections indicate another 24 percent decline by 2025.

A recent U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service study, titled "Fishing and Hunting Recruitment in the U.S. from 1990 to 2005," suggests that time constraints are the biggest reason people drop out of the hunting ranks.

More..............

mekender wrote:your map is off, hunting in NC is prohibited on sundays and has been since 1869... the only exception is on military bases where the state doesnt have jurisdiction any damn way...

The law dates back to the enactment of "blue laws" devoted to maintaining Sunday as a day of religious observance; the view from some pulpits is that there is no reason to change.

The Christian Action League of Raleigh opposes easing the ban. The Rev. Mark Creech, the league's executive director, said one of the ban's virtues is that it protects rural churches from dangerous disruptions.

"It's just not conducive to worship to hear, 'bang!' from a property nearby," Creech said.

The Rev. Jeff Springer, the pastor of Big Lick Baptist Church in Oakboro, is an avid hunter himself. But he attended one of the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission's hearings at South Stanly High School in Norwood to voice his opposition to easing the ban.