Sport of hunting with hounds under scrutiny

Keep your dog - and yourself - off my land unless you have my written permission to trespass!

There's nothing "sporting" about hound-hunting for deer, bear, and raccoons. It's ugly slaughter practiced by rednecks.

(A hunting dog that points and sets upland game birds still accords both the hunter - and the quarry - a sporting chance.)

I can still see the mental images of beer-belly fat guys, riding ATVs, following their kill dogs with a can in one hand and a shotgun in the other, running rampant over environmentally-sensitive terrain in the name of sport. Get these jerks off the land. They're dangerous, ignorant, and have little respect for the rights of others. Yeah, they pitch the can on your land, too.

Would some sort of GPS-activated electrical collar on each hound help keep them out of where they aren’t wanted?

Maybe the counties (and cities) should be allowed to exempt themselves from this law.  That way, hunters would know in advance where they are welcome to hunt, and where they should not.

Where the hell did the idea come from that a redneck with a gun could run wild over someone else's land, just because their half-breed mutt is running loose? These people are living with outmoded laws that have no place in the 21st century.

I have hunted all of my life and enjoy the sport immensely, but on this score I couldn't agree more with Mr. Hartwell. He forgot to mention how these guys ruin the sport for the rest of us by giving it a bad name as well as by spoiling the serenity of the woods. I hunt on a farm owned by my brother-in-law and my sons and I are the only ones with permission to be there. You can't tell that to the dogs. I can't tell you how mad I got a couple of times last year after getting in the woods at 5:00 a. m. only to be interrupted at peak hunting time by a pack of trespassing dogs. I started to shoot a couple and maybe I should have, but I am a dog lover and just couldn't. After all, they weren't to blame.

Look guys, if we want to continue to hunt we need to do it right and quit destroying the sport we profess to love. Dog hunting isn't the only way. There is nothing better than still hunting. It beats dog hunting for enjoyment as well as being less invasive and disturbing to others. Please stop intruding on the rights of others with your packs of dogs before you ruin the sport for all of us.

Thanx, Rodney. I expected a tirade from the redneck crowd.

I have 100 acres in farmland in Louisa county Va. I constantly have dog owners running across my POSTED PROPERTY with NO CONCERN for the farm animals that I have there. BY LAW, they CAN NOT carry loaded weapons across my property, but do you really think that THAT stops them? Hell NO, it does not. I catch at least a few loose dogs running in my donkey and bovine pastures each year, and call the owner if the number is on their collar, or turn them over to the shelter in our area if no tags are found. What will happen if I happen to be out on MY LAND riding one of my Donkeys???? I believe that NO ONE has the right to TRESPASS ON MY PROPERTY WITHOUT MY PERMISSION....PERIOD. If they are out chasing a dog at 3 in the morning, well so be it, they NEED MY PERMISSION. Without it, my insurance WILL NOT COVER ANY INJURY TO THEM....think about THAT ONE....I have idiots on dirt bikes and four wheelers trespassing all the time, and I have NO MONEY to pay for their injuries, so STAY THE HECK OFF OF MY LAND. PERIOD.
Robert Seddon
Mineral, Va.

Doesn't someone want to insist that Bush is at fault for this?

I live in Cumberland, VA and I can tell you that most of the hunters with dogs do not respect property owners or the law. They stop beside the road and turn their dogs loose to run on private property. I can't remember how many times I have had to deal with them blocking the road with all their trucks parked on the side. Most of the back roads aren't wide enough for two cars to pass with them sitting right on the edge. Then they act as though you are the one causing the problem. You cannot enjoy the local parks walking/hiking and horseback trails during hunting season because you just may get shot. Not to mention having to worry about someone shooting your livestock because they are hunting so close to the houses.

I have also found many wounded or dead dogs along the road. I have heard that some have been stolen and if they did not perform they are just shot. Sometimes this happens anyway at the end of the season. I always end up with a few dogs hanging around my property after the season is over because no one cares about them.

I don't mind people who follow the rules hunting but do it away from homes and places where people are around, but I blame the county and state for allowing hunting the state forest where recreation trails are located and close to houses.

Not really, but my insurance company sure is....last year I had a hard time even getting a farm policy. The price sure went up. I can not afford to have half drunk idiots leaving beer cans all, over the place getting hurt on my land. If you want to make a law, how about one that just states that trespassers are not able to sue a landowner for his life savings and all that he has? That would suit me just fine.
Robert Seddon
Mineral, Va.

Some hunters say the criticism comes from outsiders unfamiliar with the sport's heritage, but that's not always the case.

"An awful lot of what we consider 'new people' are sons and daughters of Virginia but don't have the tradition of the land," said Rick Busch, assistant director of the wildlife division of the state Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. "It's not necessarily Yankees piling into our Southern states."

Hmm, maybe you need more yankees....

NAH.... my criticism comes from a life long (50 years) hunter who happens to pay taxes in Louisa County..
If I have to worry about each "Hunter" that trespasses on my land I can not keep my farm running. Donkeys think that any DOG is a predator to them, as many years of experience have taught them, and they will KILL any dog that enters their environment....my cows have horns, and feel the same way. A lot of dead dogs happen this way. It is the threat to my insurance situation that really bothers me. I do not have the money to pay some idiot who gets hurt on my property, and without MY PERMISSION to be on the property, my insurance will not pay one dime for it. Sorry guys, ask for my permission before you mess around on MY LAND.
Robert Seddon

Gosh, I'm glad the traditions that I'm passing onto to my children and grandchildren won't include chasing wild animals through the woods for "sport". Surely you can worry about something more important to pass on to your heirs.

"..I can still see the mental images of beer-belly fat guys, riding ATVs, following their kill dogs with a can in one hand and a shotgun in the other..."

I can also see the mental image of latte sipping snobs, driving their BMW's with one hand to their ear with a cell phone, the other hand punching the DVD controls on their radio, going to a restaurant and ordering a steak, never realizing that it came from a living animal.

What elitist crap!

"It's not necessarily Yankees piling into our Southern states." WTF?? For the love of God...when the hell will you get over calling people from the north "Yankees." Are you still sore about losing the civil war...or is it still known as the "War of Northern Aggression?" Wasn't it Rockefeller that gave MILLIONS of dollars to Williamsburg back in the 20's?? Wasn't he a "Yankee?" To hell with ya, we're here to stay and WILL protect our land rights! Piss off.

I have to say I agree with all of you. I too am a land owner in Prince Edward County, and we face this problem every year. Many times there are clubs from NC that drop their dogs off on the weekend and come back to pick them up the next, if they can find them. So for a week or more, there are starving dogs running aimlessly around, ruining the hunt for the rest of us. The SPCA is useless, they release the dogs back to the owner with only a small fee, and we end up seeing the same dog back on the property a week later.

So we are left with a choice. Shoot a starving animal that is potentially dangerous to other animals and people because they have basically turned wild and need to eat, or turn them over to the county, let them feed them for a few days, and start the process all over again. Fortunately gas prices are making the decision to not to drive the dog 15 miles to the SPCA a little easier.

In defense of some dog hunters, we have had a few come and ask to retrieve their dog, but I think it was to really get back that $700 gps collar off of this years hunt dog.

Its hard to give up old traditions, but we have out grown good old dog hunting, and its ashame.
My Grandpa/Dad use to coon/fox hunt. I remember laying on a blanket in the back of the old ford truck, and the sounds of old dogs barking will always be in my memory. Those were the days. There are two many people now and not enough open land. I have a sign that says,

"Private Property" No Hunting
Nothing lasts forever.

Hunting with dogs a sport or a tradition??? Please the losers I see all around sit in their trucks waiting for their dogs, that all look like they are in desperate need of a good meal, to do their hunting for them. That is not sport. And who ever said beer cans.... well if I tracked hunters that would be the tell all sign. Maybe not all are bad that hunt with dogs, but there are too many of them that run amuck. Not to mention the fact that they breed so many of these dogs , mostly Heinz 57's. I am sure the Humane society can say there is definitely no shortage of these types of dogs that end up in the pounds. Hunting is fine, but not with dogs!!

I am a hunter and also live and own property in Lousia VA and have a fair amount of exposure to hunting dogs and dog hunters. The big problem is that dog hunters can't understand and follow a few simple rules of the road: they are only permitted to RETRIEVE their dogs from private property (not release them onto or run them over private property where they have no express permission to hunt), they MAY NOT carry a weapon with them when doing so, and they may NOT do so except on foot. Retirving wounded game absolutely requires the permission of the landowner.

I have to agree with the earlier posts from fellow hunters stating that those individuals who choose to ignore both the law and common rules of courtesy give the rest of us a bad name.

Web Houlgrave

This is a proud tradition that you want to pass onto your children and grandchildren? Surely you can find something a bit more worthwhile to do than chasing animals through the woods. Get a grip!

Oh MY GOD! You want to talk about ignorance?!
Hunters are not all beer-bellied redneck freaks out to run rampant on everyone elses land!!
My husband and I are both college educated middle class adults who have raised, trained, and shown hounds now for five years. Only a few times have we EVER had to go on someone elses land to retrieve a dog, and always with permisson first. We have several land owners with 200+ acres who are more than glad to allow us to hunt on their land. Unfortunately, dogs lack our college degrees and aren't to good at reading posted signs! All of our animals wear GPS tracking collars when turned loose, but a collar doesn't know anything about borders either!
There are some hunters who choose to not ask permission to hunt on others land. They give all of us a bad name and should not be allowed to trespass on purpose.
HOWEVER, sitting on a computer running your mouth and trashing the entire population of hunters only shows your own lack of intelligence.
And by the way, in all hunting dog competitions the point is to TRACK the animal and tree it... they aren't killed, maimed, or other-wise injured. In fact, in competition it is ILLEGAL TO KILL the prey. So go educate yourself on the facts before running your mouth. If you want to complain about slaughter, go after McD's and save all those millions of poor little cute cows slaughtered for your double cheeseburgers. Leave me and my dogs alone!

My dad's boyhood dog - a pit named Bill Dog, used to tear up and kill foxhounds that crossed family property in West Virginia (Wigg estate). Not that it was encouraged, but sounds like a good idea for these backwoods idiots who won't/can't buy enough hunting property for themselves and think they can run over everyone else's. I hate bigots, but these people give the lesser-educated an undeserved bad name.

Belinda,

I believe you have houndsmen confused with the upper crust pompous idiots who pay $1000 for a designer dog that isn't even pure-bred!
My hounds are treated better than most people these days treat their children. They eat nearly as well as we do, and you won't find one on our property that isn't at least double registered, microchipped, with at least two I.D collars on and vet checked at least twice a year. This is MUCH more than I can say for 90% of the other animal owners in this country!

Hunting with hounds is not the problem, the problem is those who have a problem obeying the law. Trespassing on private property is illegal. People who purposely turn their dogs out on private land should be punished. However, if you have someone who either owns neighboring property to you or who has permission to hunt that neighboring property, and they have a dog who crosses over your property line, then they should have the right to retrieve that dog. Most responsible houndsman have VERY well trained dogs. Most will not climb or dig over or under a fence or other barrier. And NO serious hunting dog will chase "off game." Meaning, if they are trained for coon-hunting, they will only chase a coon. Your donkey, cow, chicken, or dang pet gerbil is safe.

Life every other group, there are good and bad, ignorant and well educated. To throw all hunters into one category is wrong, and only shows your own ignorance.

"Courtly fox hunters and down-home bear and coon hunters — an unlikely coalition — contend their heritage is at stake."

Just like whale hunting, this barbaric "heritage" needs to die. Time to move on to modern living.

I could say the same for football....

Move on! What is "modern" about a bunch of men ramming each other, scratching their balls, and slapping each other's butts?

Calf-roping, bull-riding, and every kind of fishing should be out-lawed as well then. While we're at it, add sky-diving, bungee jumping, and race car driving to the list. They are much to dangerous and pointless.

Can we also "can" politicians, lawyers, doctors, and such? In our modern society we don't really need "their type" around. We'll throw them out with all those ignorant beer-bellied redneck hunters.

Oops...

Forgot something! While we're at it...
Native Americans can no longer perform sacred ceremonies, forget those rain dances!
African Americans can no longer celebrate Black heritage month.

And July 4th should no longer be a holiday, lets just forget the past. We're a MODERN society now!