Porcupines now on Pa. hit list

It’s a prickly situation for Pennsylvania porcupines as a new regulation was passed yesterday by the Pennsylvania Gaming Commission to make hunting porcupines legal. Under new regulations, porcupines can be hunted from Sept. 1 to March 31 with a bag limit of six.

The regulation comes following complaints from homeowners saying porcupines were causing damage to property. Porcupines were formerly a protected species in Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania State Director for the Humane Society Sarah Speed raised preliminary concerns about record ability issues with the new regulations and being able to keep track of the data of this native species. The Gaming Commission addressed this by adding a stipulation of the daily bag limit of six.

Speed also says that porcupine products, such as their quills, are being sold on eBay, showing that “poaching is already in place.”