PRINTER'S NO. 1060
No. 927 Session of 1975
INTRODUCED BY SHELHAMER, NOYE, MYERS, HALVERSON, PITTS, GIAMMARCO, THOMAS, HASAY, COLE, LETTERMAN, E. H. SMITH, McINTYRE AND RENWICK, APRIL 7, 1975
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON GAME AND FISHERIES, APRIL 8, 1975
AN ACT 1 Amending the act of June 3, 1937 (P.L.1225, No.316), entitled 2 "An act concerning game and other wild birds and wild 3 animals; and amending, revising, consolidating, and changing 4 the law relating thereto," further restricting the selling of 5 raccoon. 6 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania 7 hereby enacts as follows: 8 Section 1. Section 716, act of June 3, 1937 (P.L.1225, 9 No.316), known as "The Game Law," amended May 6, 1943 (P.L.195, 10 No.99) and September 28, 1965 (P.L.551, No.285), is amended to 11 read: 12 Section 716. Buying and Selling Game.--Except as otherwise 13 provided by this act, it is unlawful for any person, at any 14 time, to buy, sell, or barter, or offer for sale or barter, or 15 have in possession for sale or barter, any game, or parts 16 thereof, no matter where such game has been killed, excepting 17 deer or rabbits killed in another state or nation, or the 18 [carcasses or] skins of raccoons and the skins of bears, no 19 matter where killed, and other game legally killed and imported
1 from another state or nation when tagged as herein required. 2 Except as otherwise provided by this act, it is unlawful for 3 any person, at any time, to sell or barter, or offer for sale or 4 barter, [for human consumption,] any species of game, or parts 5 thereof, protected by this act or similar thereto, imported 6 either dead or alive from another state or nation, except deer 7 or rabbits, [or raccoons] unless the carton containing such 8 birds or animals, or the individual carcasses, shall have 9 attached a tag identifying the birds or animals in plain 10 English, and giving the state or nation from which originally 11 shipped. Before any such game may be offered for sale, there 12 shall first have been attached to each bird or animal, by a 13 representative of the commission, a metal seal, the cost of 14 which is hereby fixed at five cents, which seal shall remain 15 attached until the carcass is prepared, or finally cut up, for 16 consumption. 17 Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent the 18 purchase or sale of game raised under authority of a propagating 19 permit in this Commonwealth and properly tagged; or the 20 [purchase or] sale of live raccoons [legally possessed, for 21 release within the Commonwealth] by the trapper who legally 22 caught the same within this Commonwealth who shall be known as 23 the first party, to any person within the Commonwealth who shall 24 be known as the second party and who shall be required to 25 possess a current resident hunter's license legally issued to 26 him, for the sole purpose of the second party to release such 27 purchased raccoons into a wild state within this Commonwealth 28 for restocking purposes only. The second party shall be required 29 to release all such purchased raccoons into the wild within a 30 period of not more than ten days from the date of purchase from 19750H0927B1060 - 2 -
1 the first party. It shall be unlawful for the second party to 2 sell or barter, or have in possession for sale or barter, any 3 raccoon purchased from the first party under any circumstances, 4 or for any person to sell, or offer for sale, any raccoon, 5 living or dead, which was taken in this Commonwealth for any 6 other purpose other than as provided herein; or the purchase or 7 sale, or introduction into this State, at any time, of live 8 birds or animals for propagation, liberation, or for any other 9 purpose that has been inspected and legally passed in accordance 10 with the conditions hereinafter stipulated; or to prevent, at 11 any time, the sale within the State, or the shipment out of the 12 State, without a license of any kind, of any animal raised in 13 captivity and not found in a wild state in this Commonwealth; or 14 the purchase or sale of the tanned, cured, or mounted heads or 15 skins, or parts thereof, of any game not killed in a wild state 16 in this Commonwealth, or the sale or purchase of deer hides or 17 any part thereof from animals lawfully killed, if such hides are 18 disposed of by the original owner within ninety days after the 19 close of the previous open season, but this provision shall not 20 be construed to permit any individual or agency other than the 21 commission to sell the skins of deer killed as a protection to 22 crops. 23 Section 2. This act shall take effect immediately. C12L29CVV/19750H0927B1060 - 3 -