Pennsylvania Game Commission debates open season for porcupines
A decision expected today from the Pennsylvania Game Commission could yield porcupines the same fate as opossums, skunks, weasels, coyotes and groundhogs: a year-round hunt.
As the Inquirer reports, incidents of property damage in rural parts of the state have the commission considering an open season. Residents can already control the animals in situations where damage has been caused, but an open season would allow for porcupine control anywhere, anytime.
Biologists and wildlife advocates question the necessity for an open season, given the rodents’ slow nature, and say population studies should be done before hunting is OK’d.
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