Provision could allow porcupines to be hunted or trapped, with proper licenses.
The Pennsylvania Board of Game Commissioners today gave final approval to reclassifying the porcupine as a furbearer.
The change will allow for porcupines to be trapped, as well as hunted. A porcupine trapping season has not been implemented for the 2016-17 license year, and commissioners said previously one would be implemented in future seasons only if staff recommends a trapping season.
Jeff Grove, the local government affairs director for the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau, on Monday addressed the commissioners and expressed the Farm Bureau's support of the reclassification. Porcupines occasionally chew on and damage vehicle and equipment parts, especially in the winter when salt builds up on roads, and reclassifying them as furbearers will provide for additional control methods, he said.
Based on the proposal, license requirements for hunting and trapping of porcupines would mirror those for coyotes. Porcupines could be hunted by those possessing either a hunting or furtaker license, and could be trapped by furtakers, as well, during established seasons.
