Pennsylvania lawmakers want to make the theft of a trail camera a specific crime punishable by jail time and a $1,500 fine.
A panel of Pennsylvania lawmakers voted to support legislation to crack down on the theft and vandalism of trail cameras in the state with a new bill this month.
House Bill 800 — sponsored by Republican Representative Joe Emrick — increases the penalties for any individual who disrupts or steals a trail camera or any other recording equipment used to capture images of wildlife, such as those deployed by hunters in the state.
According to reports, those who take or move a trail camera would face a summary offense of the first degree with a fine ranging from $1,000 to $1,500 and be sentenced to imprisonment for up to three months. House Bill 800 also states that offenders shall have their hunting privileges revoked with or without a license for one year.
The bill’s wording says it would amend state law to prohibit intentionally or knowingly affecting “the condition or placement of personal or public property intended for use in the lawful taking, viewing, photographing or video recording of wildlife or other permitted activities in order to impair its usefulness or prevent its use.”
Rise in Theft of Trail Cameras
According to local news outlet Lehighvalleylive.com, State Representative David Maloney Sr, one of the Republican lawmakers trying to pass House Bill 800, stated that the legislation was introduced to address the growing problem of trail camera theft.
“More and more hunters are now using trail cameras to view, identify, and pattern wildlife. Unfortunately, there has also been an increase in the number of cameras stolen from hunters,” Maloney writes. “We need to do more to give hunters protection of their investment and property.”
Maloney Sr. also claims that criminals stealing a trail camera are “usually up to something else.”
“They’re usually trying to hide some activity or they’re on private property — they’ve never had permission, they refuse to get permission,” Maloney says.
The latest Pennsylvania legislation follows news that Kansas is reconsidering its statewide ban on trail cameras on public lands managed by the Department of Wildlife and Parks. Kansas implemented the ban in 2023, but it sparked controversy, with many hunters and wildlife photographers arguing that the blanket prohibition was an overreach that unfairly punished responsible users.
Image credits: Header photo licensed via Depositphotos.
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