Wednesday, December 04, 2024

Petition To Ban Hound Hunting In AZ

The petition calls to ban dog assisted hunting for bears, mountain lions, cottontail rabbits, foxes and other mammals.

 

While I understand the emotional appeal of this proposed ban, I am against it. Traditional dog hunting has not been the cause of the endangerment or extinction of any of these species. I want laws that are fact based, not emotion based.

 

Years ago, a hound hunting ban was imposed in Washington State (I don’t know the status of hound hunting in WA today). In the meantime, the professional hound hunters gave up their dogs and the shelters were filled. Hunters had been called out when a bear or mountain lion was menacing human areas. That role was then given over to the state, who also was using hounds. Total hypocrisy. The law was repealed when mountain lions started hanging around grade schools. And note the increasing number of big cat attacks on children and joggers throughout the West in the past decade or so.

 

Wildlife needs to be managed; populations need to be regulated to remain sustainable. The use of dogs is humane. Sorry if that hurts your feelings. 

(BTW... Petitions are often created by interest groups to drive people to the polls in upcoming elections. Statisticians associate what type of voter most likely will turn out to vote, and they target that group with a petition. The bigger goal is to favor one Party over the other, and it isn't really about the topic of the petition. This was done more than once in Colorado, first to bring in wolves into the state and second to ban "trophy hunting". The wording of the bans was not for the betterment of wildlife management. Don't let yourself be used.) 

No comments: