The mission of the Pennsylvania Game Commission is: To manage and protect wildlife. To manage wildlife habitat. To inform and educate the public on wildlife and safe hunting practices.
Nothing in there about scheduling seasons to the benefit of businesses.
How many of these business owners would consider themselves politically conservative, and in other circumstances want to keep government out of business? But on this issue, can't pick up their pen fast enough to ask government to help them get relief?
Don't get me wrong, I sympathize. Patronizing small businesses was a big part of my family's camp tradition, long before I was old enough to go to camp. We went to the local grocery store, hardware store, gun shop, ice cream shop, and the one I looked forward to most, the Saturday night stop at Truman's to talk to the gentleman in the well-worn rocking chair. This year, Truman's closed in early November. Were they bracing for this? I don't know, but I imagine the buck season change influenced the early close.
I can't blame business owners for doing what's within their reach for the benefit of their businesses. When things are going well, some see no need for change. When it's not going well, some try to fight/avoid/stave off the need for change - because things were going just fine before X change, out of our control, happened. In capitalism, businesses must adapt to survive. As much as many of us don't want these negatively-impacted businesses to fold, it's not up to government to decide which businesses win or lose. That's up to the business and it's up to consumers. Consumers' habits change based on any number of influences, including the timing of hunting seasons.
For the past 50+ years before 2019, how many business owners wrote the PGC thank you cards to express gratitude for the success of their businesses on the three days leading up to the opener?