Unified Sportsmen Suit Update
Latest news on the suit against the Game Commission: Case dismissed.
A state court yesterday dismissed a lawsuit challenging the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s deer-management program, saying the sportsmen’s group that sued lacks a legal foundation for its claim.
The Unified Sportsmen of Pennsylvania had asked Commonwealth Court to order specific changes in the program, including an immediate end to doe hunting pending a scientific study, on grounds that the current rules threaten to decimate the herd.But a three-judge panel said the Game Commission is legally required to manage the deer and has discretion over how to do that. The panel said the sportsmen’s group cannot use the courts to change policies it disagrees with.Members of the group, which says it represents more than 40,000 hunters and outdoorsmen, “do not aver the Game Commission failed to exercise its discretion; rather, they seek to compel the exercise of discretion in a specific manner,” Judge Robert Simpson said in a 12-page decision.
See previous article about the suit.
Thankfully, there is some sanity out there…
Many state, local and national government agencies are guilty of abusing the trust empowered to them, and PGC fits nicely in that category. Unfortunately, ordinary citizens have no leverage, except via the ballot. Not so with PGC. This suit was destined to failure, but what recourse is available? With no oversight, PGC will continue to thumb its nose at their lifeline, the people who purchase licenses. The Board of Commissioners and PGC executive officers should be elected by vested outdoorsmen and women, not by political appointment.