Thursday, September 11, 2008
Bill Cochran's Outdoors: Whole lotta howling over Virginia's hound study
Bill Cochran is a Roanoke Times outdoors columnist.
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Few things have sparked more passion among hunters, landowners and wildlife officials than the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries’ effort to address the issue of hound hunting in Virginia, a tradition that dates back to George Washington.
Called “Hound Hunting in Virginia: A Way Forward,” the program’s participants are scheduled to make a final report to the DGIF board Oct. 23. The effort was embedded in discord when it started months ago and it is destine to conclude on that note, with many people disappointed with the process and the recommendations coming out of the exercise.
>“It is largely trash,” said Bob Kane, head of the Virginia Hunting Dog Owners Association. He calls it wasted time, money, goodwill and constituent support, and claims it is a threat to hunting dog owners.
>“This is a direct insult,” Floyd Smith told DGIF officials. “You have let the antis [anti hunters] in the front door.”
>The exercise has been like “shooting at a noise in the bushes,” said Claude Sutton.
>“So what has this multi-month process accomplished, really?” asked C.C. McCotter, in a Staunton Newspaper column. “Nothing concrete as of yet,” he concluded.
There are those who disagree with the comments above. Included is Richard Railey, vice chairman of the DGIF board from Courtland, who kennels a pack of deer hounds and guards hound hunting with vigor. He believes the study has been on target and beneficial. James Hazel former board chairman from Oakton also has supported the effort. Both men will play a major role in the outcome.
At the heart of the heat is the “right-to-retrieve” law. This allows hunters to go onto private property -- even posted land, even without permission -- to retrieve their dogs, as long as they don’t carry a loaded firearm.
“Hound hunters are adamant that the right-to-retrieve law is crucial to their ability to hunt with hounds and that it protects the welfare of their hounds,” said Dr. Steve McMullin, a Virginia Tech wildlife professor who was hired to facilitate the hound study.
On the other side of the fence, “many landowners are outraged because they feel the right-to-retrieve law unfairly and unconstitutionally deprives them of the right to enjoy and control access to their property,” he said.
Some landowners complain that hound hunters access their land for the purpose of hunting under the guise they are looking for lost dogs.
The advisory committee, composed of both hunters and landowners, split over the right-to-retrieve issue, and were unable to agree on any modification of the law, said McMullin.
“This is an extremely difficult issue that is rooted in basic American values and rights,” he said.
Some discussion points, none of which was adopted, included (1) mandating that permission be obtained before retrieving hounds on private land; (2) requiring landowners to post their property with contact information helpful to hound hunters and (3) presuming that property not properly posted is open to retrieving dogs without permission.
The failure to recommend adjustments in the right-to-retrieve law is applauded by some involved in the process, but unacceptable to others. This could mean that the issue will head to the General Assembly.
The advisory committee has agreed on several recommendations. They include:
- Improved law enforcement through more conservation police who are better trained and funded and who work closer with other law enforcement officers.
- Better records of illegal activities and tougher penalties and fines for law breakers including the loss of the right to hunt for unacceptable conduct.
- A standard, statewide no-hunting zone along roadways to help stop the practice of releasing hounds onto private property without permission.
- Hound identification requirements that make it possible to link hunters and hunt clubs with hounds.
- A code of ethics for hound hunters and a program to educate hunters and landowners.
These recommendations can be found on the DGIF Web site: HuntFishVA.com.
“We have given Virginians an opportunity to preserve the tradition of hunting with hounds and addressed the legitimate concerns of landowners,” said McMullin. “Only time will tell if it turns out to be wasted opportunity.”
