HARRISBURG — A Pennsylvania law that took effect Tuesday targets poachers by imposing much stricter penalties, including felony status, jail time and larger fines.

Supporters said they expected the changes to the Pennsylvania Game Code to serve as a deterrent and to reverse the state's reputation as a place where illegal hunting is treated with lenience.

The bill that passed the Legislature and was signed by the governor in July was the first comprehensive change of game and wildlife penalties since 1987.

"It's going to keep all the bad guys, hopefully, that have been committing crimes against wildlife, out of the woods, once they get caught," said House Game and Fisheries Committee Chairman Edward Staback, D-Lackawanna, prime sponsor of the bill. "I think the people that have been involved with this stuff before are going to think twice."

The new law provides potential penalties for poaching a single deer of three months in jail, a $1,000 fine — up from what had often been about $250 — and a five-year ban on hunting. The most serious poaching violations, such as killing five or more big-game animals, could result in a felony conviction, three years in prison, a $15,000 fine and a 15-year hunting license revocation.

The state's big-game animals are deer, elk, bear and turkey.

While the law creates a felony-level offense, it exempts those convictions from applying to the state Crimes Code's ban on felons holding certain jobs or running for public office, Staback said. Federal law would prohibit anyone with a felony poaching conviction from possessing firearms, he said.

Some of the changes are aimed at repeat offenders in a state that has about 1,000 poaching-related cases annually, said Game Commission spokesman Jerry Feaser.