HARRISBURG – Pennsylvania Game Commission Executive Director Carl G. Roe today praised the Senate Game and Fisheries Committee and its chairmen, Sen. Richard L. Alloway II (R-33) and Sen. Richard A. Kasunic (D-32), and the House Game and Fisheries Committee and its chairmen, Rep. Edward G. Staback (D-Lackawanna) and Rep. Ron Miller (R-York), for yesterday’s passage of a bill that will protect wildlife by preventing those convicted of poaching in other states from being able to lawfully hunt in Pennsylvania.
Senate Bill 1200, sponsored by Alloway, enrolls Pennsylvania in the Interstate Wildlife Violator Compact, and has been a key legislative goal for the agency.
“Enactment of this measure will enable the Pennsylvania Game Commission to cooperate with the 37 other states presently enrolled in the Compact, to provide reciprocity for license revocations between states,” Roe said. “In other words, if someone loses their hunting license privileges in one state for a poaching conviction, that individual will lose their hunting license privileges in all states who are members of the compact.
“Having Pennsylvania join this compact is widely supported by sportsmen, as Pennsylvania currently is one of only 13 states that had not passed legislation. However, by enacting this measure, Pennsylvania will soon stop being viewed as a ‘poacher’s paradise’ for those who have lost their licenses in most other states. Those who have proven that they are willing to flaunt the laws protecting wildlife in one state will no longer be able to lawfully hunt in Pennsylvania until they have paid their due.”
Senate Bill 1200 unanimously passed the Senate on March 23, was approved by the House on Sept. 13, by a vote of 178 to 15, and sent to Gov. Edward G. Rendell for his action. If signed into law by Rendell, the Game Commission will pursue the administrative process to be admitted into the compact.
Roe noted that, in combination with the new fines and penalties for poaching, the General Assembly has given a one-two punch to poachers.
“Some chronic or commercial poachers considered Pennsylvania’s previous fines as merely a ‘cost of doing business,’” Roe said. “However, the Pennsylvania General Assembly and Gov. Rendell – with the support of the Game Commission and law-abiding hunters and trappers – pulled the welcome mat back from those who would consider poaching Pennsylvania wildlife when they enacted a law establishing a new slate of fines and penalties for those convicted of various poaching-related offenses.
“Increasing penalties for serious violations is one of the operational objectives within the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s Strategic Plan. This marks the first comprehensive piece of legislation to increase Game and Wildlife Code penalties since 1987, and we believe it will significantly enhance wildlife protection in the Commonwealth, especially since this marks the first time that some poachers could actually face prison time for their actions.”
Act 54 of 2010 was introduced as House Bill 1859, and sponsored by House Game and Fisheries Committee Chairman Edward G. Staback. The bill was approved by the House on July 21, 2009, by a vote of 196-3. The Senate, after making minor adjustments to the bill, approved the measure unanimously on July 3, 2010, followed by a 189-6 concurrence vote in the House also on July 3, which sent the bill onto Rendell, who signed it on July 9.
