Trespass for Hunting on Private Property in Pennsylvania
In Pennsylvania, much like in other states, the ownership of private land provides broad rights to the owner. Most notably, these rights encompass the ability to exercise near total control over who and what is permitted on the premises. In general, so long as the property owner acts within the boundaries of the law, those rights are properly maintained. For example, property owners have the freedom to lease their property for hunting use, subject only to the regulations and restrictions of applicable law. However, the most common method employed by property owners is to simply prohibit access to their property without their permission. From a straightforward standpoint, this is accomplished through the posting of signage – "No Hunting," "No Trespassing," or similar restriction signage will suffice – at entrances to the property, and may be supplemented by physically demarcating the property lines. A property owner may also wish to indicate how its property is accessed. For example, there may be roads or trails that, while traversable, are dangerous or hazardous to all but the most experienced hunters . Under prevailing under Pennsylvania law, no individual may enter land without permission if it is posted as above. In short, posting of land with prohibitory signage is sufficient to keep both hunters and trespassers out. Of course, while it is not required, the law does favor the physical posting of property. The only exception that would realistically apply would be a licensed hunter or game commission officer engaged in the required investigation of a hunting incident, such as would necessitate entering private land for inspection, or the like. Additionally, the criminal element of trespassing is unlikely to apply to a harmless case of inadvertent intrusion, say, by a lost hunter who sought shelter from the elements. All in all, the law strongly favors the owner of the land, and will only protect illegal entry on posted land either negligently done or otherwise without intent to engage in illicit activity. As with all things in the legal system, this is subject to interpretation by the courts, but most courts are very cognizant of the limited rights of an owner as against others in regard to clearly posted land.
Hunting Permission and Trespassing Guidelines
Before you start crossing over other folks’ property lines, you need to make sure you have the proper permissions. All hunters need permission to hunt on private land in Pennsylvania. The only time that permission is not required is when hunting on Unrestricted State Forest Lands (that is – the land has not been designated "closed to hunting" by the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources – DCNR). To be clear, if you are going out to a State Game Land or State Forest area that is not listed as a closed season area, you still need a permit to hunt or at lease to go on the property – the only difference is that you can obtain the permit at no charge. All other lands, whether owned by an individual or business, will require you to first obtain permission – including State lands that are not designated as "unrestricted" by DCNR.
Section 3502 – Private Property – of the PA Game Law sets forth specific requirements regarding the use of private lands for hunting. Section 502 is located in Title 34 (The Game Law) of the PA Code and defines the ability of individuals to hunt on private land – essentially, that you must have permission of the owner. This section of the Game Law is broken down into four subsections. Each subsection sets forth varying requirements – from general requirements to more specific scenarios based on the type of private property ownership.
Pennsylvania No Hunting Signs and the Law
Now as far as the "No Hunting" signs that you see posted all over the state on private property, those notices must be displayed pursuant to the Pennsylvania Game and Wildlife Code (THERE ARE ACTUALLY SEVERAL CODES – I will try to cite the correct one for each section). Specifically, as it pertains to "No Trespassing," 30 Pa. Cons. Stat. U. § 2502 states the following: Except as set forth in section 3536(c) [added here]) (relating to posting against trespass or hunting, trapping or hunting on posted land), it is unlawful for any person to shoot, fire at or otherwise disturb, or cause or procure the same to be done, or to be in possession of any firearm, bow or arrow, in hunting devices other than a handgun, on any private property or on any posted public lands or waters without first having obtained from the owner or owner’s agent thereof written permission, on forms prescribed by the commission, or by section 3536(c), duly signed by the owner or the owner’s agent or designee. The legal jargon here is pretty clear and does not allow much wiggle room. So, if you want to keep the hunters out, it is not going to be enough you just hang up a "No Hunting" sign on your land. You must post any property you own if you want to keep the hunters out. These "No Trespassing" signs must be posted either around the perimeter of your property line at intervals not exceeding 400 yards and at each road, stream or public ways entering the premises; or, they may be posted at intervals not exceeding 100 yards and at least one nor more than three signs of the type described above, at any corner or corners of the property. So, keep in mind that these notices are not just optional decorations that you see a lot of people put up around Pennsylvania in rural areas to scare away hunters; they are mandatory IF YOU DO NOT WANT the hunters on your land.
Liability for Property Owners
There is no question hunting is a dangerous sport and because of that the Pennsylvania legislature imposed a specific duty on property owners who allow hunters to use their land for hunting purposes. Section 2509(b) of the Game code.
Section 2509(b) specifies that "[a]ny person or persons who have received permission to enter upon the lands of another for hunting, trapping or fishing shall exercise due care at all times in regard to the safety of persons and property and the commission of any act of negligence by the person or persons shall constitute a civil violation."
The consent to others hunting on your property does not give those individuals a license to use the property as they please. The property owner retains the right to impose restrictions on such use by hunters. Such restrictions may include, but are not limited to, hunting only on certain days, hunting only certain types of game (for example, deer only), or a time limit on the length and type of use of the property.
The property owner’s duty does not extend to persons who trespass on his or her property. Therefore, if Mr. Trespasser drives his car onto your land, hurts someone who is hunting, and that person sues you, Mr. Trespasser is on his own and you will likely win on a motion for summary judgment dismissing the trespasser’s claim against you.
However, the landowner has a duty to warn violently injured trespassers to leave the property. For example, if you were camping at your business at night (for example, the outdoor seating section) and found a trespasser breaking into your main building and you hand that trespasser a .45 caliber pistol, your business is taking a substantial risk that the kind of "warn him away’ defense to a claim that you injured someone by doing something that encouraged the trespasser will be successful.
Accordingly, liability can be managed under the Sporting Age License Act, 30 P.S. Section 1921 et seq., see also 34 Pa.C.S. Sections 7357, 7358 (which includes a mandatory "Hunt Safe" program), and under Section 2509(b).
Property owners who exercise their legal rights to take reasonable measures to protect themselves must do so carefully after seeking competent advice.
Conservation and Wildlife Accordingly
The intersection of hunting laws and conservation initiatives has a profound impact on private land in Pennsylvania. Much of the state’s wildlife, plant life, and non-domestic game depends on private land to maintain populations and ecological health. One of the best resources for understanding the larger swath of landscape that each piece of property is a part of is the Conservation Explorer. The Conservation Explorer can help work on the overall problem of conservation efforts aligning with private perspectives by targeting areas for habitat protection, paying attention to high-level conservation priority habitats, as well as areas that are critical to species survival. By incorporating hunting regulations within their conservation strategy, the Pennsylvania Game Commission (PGC) can manage game species population and conservation in an efficient manner. Since the responsibility of managing wildlife is in the hands of the PGC, game species directly affect non-game wildlife. Reducing the impact of wildlife on human activities on private properties creates a theoretical loss to land-owners/property owners who do not want to suffer economic losses due to wildlife inhabitation. States like Minnesota have even targeted specific game species — such as deer — to manage populations. It has been shown that by doing so , non-game wildlife, overall, benefit as a result of increased management activities and funding. With 96% of the land in Pennsylvania being privately owned, the ability to effectively combat illegal game species poaching and population management has often rested in the hands of private, land owners. This results in a direct, beneficial impact on the state game commission. Larger game species suffer the consequences of these social pressures by way of population reduction, which impacts the ecosystem significantly. The same could be said for the direct financial impact of illegal poaching practices. As noted above, the private tenet of each parcel of land scattered throughout the state has been instrumental in targeting major public and private conservation efforts to economize the limited resources available to manage populations of larger game species. By focusing efforts on targeted species, a more efficient use of state funds is enabled.
Seasonally and Species-Specific Laws
Pennsylvania law outlines specific seasons and bag limits for differing types of game on private lands. Some of these regulations are the same across the entire state, while others may vary by county. It is important for hunters to be aware of these seasonal and species-specific requirements before heading out onto private land. For deer, there are two distinct seasons: the regular firearm season and the antlerless season. Generally, there is both a buck and doe season. However, some counties have special regulations which may change these seasons to a doe-only or buck-only season. Other seasons, such as bear, turkey, and pheasant, are set by county.
The PA Game Commission also states that, by law, no one under 12 may hunt for big game or furbearers on any land in Pennsylvania. Only those 11 years of age and older may hunt small game, specifically rabbits and squirrels. Hunters using muzzleloaders or firearms must be 12 or older (and generally possess a junior license). To hunt deer or turkey, the minimum age is 16. Only adults may use the restricted bear or elk licenses. (The elk license is only available at certain times, specifically March 31, 2017 until June 26, 2017 for the next four bull elk licenses across the state.)
One statewide requirement is that all antlered deer must have at least three points. Hunters should be aware that DMAP permits cannot be used to tag antlerless deer. Live trapping of antlered deer is prohibited.
Antlerless deer hunting permits within a hunting district (DMAP) cannot be transferred between sporting clubs or private landowners or from one club or private landowner to another, except when authorized by the Game Commission.
A special regulation applies to deer hunting on preserves. Anyone holding a valid hunting license issued by the Executive Director of the Game Commission must record the harvest and sex of the deer on the special report form and submit it to the Commission by April 30.
Future changes are coming to regulations regarding chronic wasting disease. Provisions are currently proposed to control chronic wasting disease (CWD) by establishing a "CWD Restricted Zone" within which elk and deer with evidence of CWD will be regulated. Down the road, new regulations, including restrictions on the use of deer or elk as bait or lure and on the transport of certain parts thereof, will be added.
After the dates of the 2017-2018 hunting seasons, regulations will be updated, with some species having reduced bag limits.
Procedures for Violations on Private Lands
If a property owner observes an act which might be a violation of hunting laws on their land, they are encouraged to act to remove the violator from their property. This is typically done by verbal warning or in writing, and usually just requires the violator to exit the property. If this is effective, there is no reason for further action. But in the event a trespass or other violation occurs, the property owner will need to contact their local game commission office, such as the Allegheny County Game Commission Office, or the constable to report the incident. Landowners are encouraged to inform and warn any person found in the act of a violation and seek the assistance of law enforcement officers rather than take actions that could result in physical harm. Remember, they are coming to your private property to engage in an illegal act that you have every right to prevent, using methods appropriate for your level of danger, including physical force if you feel that is necessary, but unless you feel your life is threatened or your person is in peril, you should not employ any more force than is necessary to get the offending party to leave your property. The above notwithstanding, if you display a weapon or even display non-lethal devices, you may be subject to criminal liability yourself under Pennsylvania law pursuant to 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 506, Regulation of the Use of Force in Self-Protection. When a person is justified in using force for self-protection, the use of force is limited to only what is necessary. With this in mind, if you can take a stand behind the door and tell someone you have a weapon and they should not proceed, that should suffice. If the person does proceed, then consider your warning a final notice. Take whatever defensive position you have, position your weapon, call the police and give them a clear description of the trespasser.
If the local game commission office fails to encourage and pursue criminal action against the alleged trespassing hunter , the property owner can contact and enlist the assistance of the township constable, who has arrest powers in addition to those possessed by the local game commission office. Unless the violation occurred long ago and several hours or weeks passed while local game commission office and township constable had opportunity to be involved watch the trespassing hunter inspect your property or otherwise carry out the purpose for which they entered your property after being warned they were trespassing, the property owner may find the constable reluctant to become involved because the hunter is no longer on the property, and the police may likewise be reluctant to respond because the alleged crime was not ongoing and there was no apparent ongoing threat to safety and would require the police to commit time and money to this issue. As a business owner, you can also call the police but you might find them unwilling to make a determination regarding the safety threats involved on the private property. Not to worry, your actions just remain consistent and within the bounds of the law. Under these circumstances, a business owner employing the private security measures recommended above would have developed an association with the local police department, game commission office and constable, and when contacted by any of these law enforcement officials and able to present and describe the video and still photos available from their surveillance system, would probably be aided by the police who could as part of their investigative duties contact the trespassing hunter and confirm whether they, in fact, visited the private property for purposes outside the limitations imposed upon them by the private property owner by virtue of the No Trespassing sign or other private security measures displayed at the property.