spotlight ban

In this Sun. Tribune-  Review there was an article that Quoted State Rep. Marc Gergely as saying that he wants the PGC to outlaw spotlighting in order to cut back complaints from farmers & landowners who threaten to close thier land because of the nuisance of people shining lights on thier homes & property at night. Also to cut back on poaching at night.He stated that if the PGC doesn't do this on thier own that he will introduce legislation to do so on his own.If you think that this is a bad idea may I suggest that you contact you own legislators & tell them so.BTW he offered the fact that other states such as West. Va. have had this banned for a long time with no prob. for those of you that hunt there like I do please quit snickering.  sam  pss  Just read in the new PA. Game News an item from the WCO in Erie CO.Michael Wojtecki that reminded people that cutting off the antlers of a roadkill deer is illegal & carries a possible $800 fine. The Graverobbers in this area have them off before the buck is done kicking.Honestly there are either a lot of people doing this or the few that do are pretty busy. lol  sam

there are many states that banned spotlighting. i wish it would happen in pa. it would cut down on the poaching, not saying it would stop it, but it would cut down. thats how a lot of lazy hunters do their scouting. hunters see big bucks out in fields and thats where they decide to hunt along with the other bunch of guys that sees the same deer.

A township (Middle Lancaster) I worked road maintenance for had NO SPOTLIGHTING signs up through-out the rds. The township cannot press charges for spotlighting during norm. hrs. posted under the 09 - 10 www.pgc.state.pa.us hunting & trapping digest regs.
Crappy

That is what they want you to think

I worked for the township & was told from higher up that it would not hold up in the books. Guess sorta like saying no hunting in Pittsburgh

mr. crappie,
Murraysville can regulate what weapons are used on their property, I believe, but, they couldn't tell a private landowner that lived within Murraysville Twp. limits that they couldn't hunt with a firearm on their own property. 

I also would be highly upset if they banned spotlighting. I also spot a couple times a week with my wife and kids. My dad always took myself and three brothers spotting when we were kids. It would be a lost tradition due to a few low life poachers. I have and will continue to turn in any poachers, day or night. Don't let them ruin it for everyone. As far as local laws, they are always superceeded by State or Federal laws. The game laws superceed local munincipal laws. (hunting, spotlighting, fishing, etc)

Wondering how the LAWS are different........fish and boat code, game code, crimes code, vehicle code......any state officer can pretty much enforce any of the STATE laws.......state officer will not be able to enforce a municiple law or regulation........the state and federal laws do supercede local municipal laws, but if a local municiple officer wants to write a ticket for SPOT Lighting where the ordinance states no spotlighting....then so be it......He can do that.......and a judge would or should uphold that law / regulation / when presented in his courtroom...but from what I know--most judges live in their own world and make-up the rules on a day to day basis.........
 
just because the game commission says spotlighting is OK......does not mean a township, borough or whatever can't ban it..........or make it against the law to do so
 
for example.......a county park sets up a catch and release Fly fishing only area in a stream on their property.......stream is stocked upstream from the park property by the state........the park property is stocked by the county......
you go there and fish with a spinning rod and decide to keep 3 trout........all caught on worms.........a WCO can only enforce the state law, which would be: license, size and creel limit..........Park Ranger would have to enforce spinning gear, fish in possession and bait in a fly fishing only area..........
 
the township, borough or whatever can make their laws more strict than state or federal..........say, in the stream above.......you can only keep 2 trout when the limit is 5........that is fine to do.......but they could not make it 7 trout.....
 
 
 
 

I live in a heavy spot lite area in cetral pa and spot lighting needs to stop if anter regs are to work properly

I happen to have a seat on the local board of directors and KNOW local police cannot enforce any game laws. Spotlighting is a game law. Thank you so much for the state superceeding the local goverment. We would have very fewhunting spots if it were up to local goverment.
Spotlighting does not kill deer guns and bows do so should they take those away also? An outlaw is going to spot and shoot deer at night with or without the spotlighting law in place. It may cut down a little on poaching but surely will not stop it. If everyone would turn in poachers friends or not they would stop poaching. I would continue to spot even if they would pass a law against it! It still would be cheap family entertainment. My kids love going spotting!

ORIGINAL: tippecanoe

An outlaw is going to spot and shoot deer at night with or without the spotlighting law in place.

 
 
yep.

If poachers are really serious about their poaching, they'll do it without spotlighting being legal.  Heck, the 2nd and 3rd generation night vision equip. is readily available, works pretty well and it's getting cheaper all the time.  They'd just move on to that and still keep poaching. 

The real issue here is that the legislators are trying to end run the PGC (who I do not always agree with, but I do support them). In the past few years we are seeing tons of legislation trying to regulate game law. That is the game commissions job. If a law needs changed it should come from the PGC to the legislators not a bunch of pencil pushers trying to rewrite the game code. This is a serious issue.

There are currently two bills up for consideration proposed by legislators that would make it legal to hunt over corn for any species. This is not a PGC reccomendation, just another politician trying to score points.