To paraphrase a popular Sting song from the 1980s: "If you love something, set it free."

Most hunters in Pennsylvania agree that their beloved sport derives its integrity from the practice of fair play. The pursuit of free animals in the wild environment where they live and breed is as stimulating as it is arduous.

Respecting animals enough to give them a fighting chance is a primary virtue of hunting -- more admirable, perhaps, than even the accuracy of the shot. To mix our metaphors, anyone can shoot fish in a barrel, but that doesn't make it sport.

A true hunter understands that sportsmanlike behavior isn't about killing animals as an exercise of naked power and opportunity.

"Canned" hunting, the practice of paying a fee to kill animals penned in a so-called hunting or game preserve without escape routes, is anathema to the spirit of sportsmanship. It is allowed in Pennsylvania but, increasingly, fair-minded hunters are speaking out against it.

Recently, legislation was crafted to ban canned hunting in the state. House Bill 2289, which has bipartisan support, would put into law what ethical hunters practice as a matter of course.

The House Committee on Game and Fisheries is reviewing testimony for and against the legislation. The committee should respect the fair-minded practices of most of the state's hunters and send the bill to the full House for a vote.

Pennsylvania needs to join the 22 other states with laws that refuse to treat wild animals like sitting ducks.