Trespassing laws, PA hunters, fisherman.
§ 2314. Trespass on private property while hunting.
(a) General rule.--Any person who while violating any
provision of this title or any regulations promulgated under
this title and who in addition is found to be trespassing as
defined in 18 Pa.C.S. § 3503 (relating to criminal trespass)
shall be in violation of this section.
(b) Penalty.--A violation of this section:
(1) For a first offense is a summary offense.
(2) For a second or subsequent offense within one year
of the prior offense is a summary offense and upon conviction
will result in an immediate revocation of the person's
hunting and furtaking license and disqualification of the
person from issuance of a future license for a period of one
year from the date of revocation.
This act shall take effect in 60 days.
(March 2005)
An entire section of the old law was removed to allow for punishment of hunters who are trespassing.
Senate Bill 539, sponsored by Sen. John R. Pippy (R-Allegheny/Washington), amends Title 34 (Game) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes and provides that a person who commits a violation of the Game Code – or any regulations of the Pennsylvania Game Commission – while committing criminal trespass will be guilty of a summary offense.
A second or subsequent offense within one year of the prior offense will constitute a summary offense, but will also result in the immediate revocation of the person’s hunting license and disqualification from receiving another license for one year.
The bill passed the Senate 50-0 and the House 193-0. The bill becomes effective in 60 days.
(i) actual communication to the actor;
(ii) posting in a manner prescribed by law or
reasonably likely to come to the attention of intruders;
(iii) fencing or other enclosure manifestly designed
to exclude intruders;
(2) Except as provided in paragraph (1)(v), an offense
under this subsection constitutes a misdemeanor of the third
degree if the offender defies an order to leave personally
communicated to him by the owner of the premises or other
authorized person. An offense under paragraph (1)(v)
constitutes a misdemeanor of the first degree. Otherwise it
is a summary offense.
(b.2) Agricultural trespasser.--
(1) A person commits an offense if knowing that he is
not licensed or privileged to do so he:
(i) enters or remains on any agricultural or other
open lands when such lands are posted in a manner
prescribed by law or reasonably likely to come to the
person's attention or are fenced or enclosed in a manner
manifestly designed to exclude trespassers or to confine
domestic animals; or
(ii) enters or remains on any agricultural or other
open lands and defies an order not to enter or to leave
that has been personally communicated to him by the owner
of the lands or other authorized person.
(2) An offense under this subsection shall be graded as
follows:
(i) An offense under paragraph (1)(i) constitutes a
misdemeanor of the third degree and is punishable by
imprisonment for a term of not more than one year and a
fine of not less than $250.
(ii) An offense under paragraph (1)(ii) constitutes
a misdemeanor of the second degree and is punishable by
imprisonment for a term of not more than two years and a
fine of not less than $500 nor more than $5,000.
(3) For the purposes of this subsection, the phrase
"agricultural or other open lands" shall mean any land on
which agricultural activity or farming as defined in section
3309 (relating to agricultural vandalism) is conducted or any
land populated by forest trees of any size and capable of
producing timber or other wood products or any other land in
an agricultural security area as defined in the act of June
30, 1981 (P.L.128, No.43), known as the Agricultural Area
Security Law, or any area zoned for agricultural use.
Defense
the premises were at the time open to members of the
public and the actor complied with all lawful conditions
imposed on access to or remaining in the premises; or
the actor reasonably believed that the owner of the
premises, or other person empowered to license access
thereto, would have licensed him to enter or remain.
of the lands or other authorized person.
Other states...
TRESPASSING AND POSTING: THE LAWS
In 22 states posting is not required; that is, it is against
the law for hunters to trespass on private property without the
landowner's permission even if the land is not posted. Where posting
is required some states have laws specifying how to post land. But
trespassing and posting laws can be somewhat confusing, so we recommend
that you post your land even if you are not legally required to do so
at a minimum, posting strengthens your case when trying to combat
trespassing by hunters. Posting also identifies your property
boundaries so that hunters and law enforcement officers know where your
private property begins. We also recommend that you get to know the law
enforcement and wildlife officers who would enforce the trespassing
laws in your area so that they might better respond when you have a
problem.
The breakdown of states that do require posting of private property to
exclude hunters/fishermen/trespassers, is as follows-Property Owner
Must Post Land in the following states:
Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida, Idaho, Louisiana,
Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New
Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North
Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Utah, Vermont,
Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin