SOMERSET COUNTY, Pa (WJAC) — Lawmakers in Pennsylvania are looking to remove the ban on Sunday hunting, but some local farmers say this could be a change in the wrong direction.
Farmers in Somerset County say their farm is in a cooperative agreement with the Pennsylvania Game Commission. However, they say they’re urging state senators to vote in favor of the ban on Sunday hunting in the state.
John and Roberta Peck, of Fort Hill, say their farm has been in their family for over 200 years.
They say that they’ve allowed hunting over the years to prevent crop damage from local wildlife. However, they say that in the past few years, things have gotten out of hand.
“We’ve had people put spikes in trees for steps up to tree stands, they have damaged fences, cut locks. We didn’t even used to lock the gates into the fields, but people were driving into the fields so now we have to lock them.”
The Pecks say that farming is a job that takes up seven days a week, and the stress caused by Sunday hunting-related problems is difficult to handle.
“Last year, the three days that they did have hunting, all we got done all day was chase people off our farm, and the majority of the people I know, from speaking with one of the game wardens, he said most of the people he stopped on Sunday hunting did not have written permission in their possession which is required but people would read the book and see they approved Sunday hunting and they would not read any farther.”
They say that if the agreement to allow Sunday hunting is passed, they plan to ban hunting from their property. They say they would want the state to provide signage telling people to stay away.
“To post off the amount of area we have would cost hundreds and hundreds of dollars for signage, buying out signage to do over 300 acres.”
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