sure,thanx

I was wondering the same thing. Years ago when I worked as a deputy WCO for the PGC, there wasn’t any laws in the code book letting the PGC enforce animal cruelty laws other than turning information over to another agency. They didn’t want to open a Pandora’s Box.

What exactly did they do to get into this much dodo? Dang kid can rip off a store or person, and won't get in nearly as much trouble as these kids did. Do you think their glasses are on upside down maybe!

I don't think this is going to really hurt trapping, at least in PA. Our game commission is pretty autonomous when it comes to regulations. The legislature can make laws, but it is up to the PGC to write the regulations and decide how they get enforced. We don't have ballot initiatives. So that keeps the general public from being able to dictate laws.


As far as them being charged with felonies. Two things: There are 2 other videos of these kids doing things like this. One involved a groundhog and a bridge side. The other involved a chipmunk and a 4x4 and feet. The other thing is the amount of felonies being charged is done, just like in most criminal cases. Pile them on so they can plead them down.

Cruelty to animals has nothing to do with game violations and the laws on the matter are not written by game commission. This is why it could be bad for hunting, fishing, and trapping in the future. These kids should not be charged with cruelty to animals as they were in the act of hunting. It should be a different charge all together.

They will get a slap on the hands...if that would be my kid i would beat their a$$..no respect

The majority of their charges were Title18 violations, which are typically enforced by police. The Title 34 violations are Game Law violations, typically enforced by the PA Game Commission. I would guess the reason the felony Title 18 charges were brought was to make a statement. As stated earlier, they will more than likely plead to misdemeanor or summary offenses. With that being said, I could care less if they were found guilty of all of the charges filed against them and could never possess a firearm legally for the rest of their lives. What they did is an absolute disgrace to every ethical hunter out there. Not to mention the complete lack of respect for that deer.

The laws may not be written by the PGC, but the regulations and enforcement are at the discretion of the PGC. PA is different than all other states. Our game commission only answers to the legislature for law changes and license increases, The legislature has no say in how the law is enforced. It's been tried before and failed.

It's very hard to describe how our game commission is set up.