Quote:
Originally Posted by T. O'Heir
Using dogs isn't considered to be a "fair chase" in most jurisdictions.
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^^^Yep. Many local and state regs differ because of the hunting ethics/beliefs of the folks that live there. Many are archaic and ineffective, but tend to stick around because it's "tradition". Hunting bears with dogs is like baiting them.....about the only way to effectively hunt bear. In my state, while bear hunting is popular, it is also restricted to those allowed to hunt/kill a bear in specific areas. The kill is determined by the amount of kill tags given out. In many areas of the state, it might take one 5-7 years to get a kill tag. Not so for deer. For deer anyone can buy license and kill a deer if they get a legal opportunity. Thus the kill is determined by length of seasons, and ways to hunt. Also, other than a few western states, most of the country's hunting land is privately owned. many times in small parcels consisting of 40-80 acres or less. Hard to run deer with dogs in areas that small without imposing upon your neighbors. In my state, you can be cited for trespassing if your hunting dog chases game on property you do not have permission to hunt. In those states that allow dogs for deer, it is generally because terrain/cover dictate it. In my state, hunting deer with dogs is considered pretty low dirtball style, while hunting upland game with a good bird dog is considered a "gentleman's sport". Same goes for using dogs for fur-bearers. No-one has a problem with running fox/'yotes with hounds, but don't let the dogs kill them. That will get you cited for animal cruelty.
Deer hunting has evolved a lot in my lifetime along with many of the methods used. Used to be "baiting" deer with food or salt/mineral was illegal and highly frowned upon. Coupla decades ago, it was accepted as being ethical and allowed with certain stipulations. Other than bear, still can't legally bait most other game. It helped that deer numbers exploded in many areas and populations hard to control. With the influx of CWD in the deer herd and it being related to feeding deer, it is now outlawed again in most of the state. Went from an ethics thing to a deer herd health thing. Same kinda happened with turkey hunting. The more the wild turkey's expanded their numbers and range, the longer the hunting day got, and the more tags they gave out. Now, because of high turkey numbers and relatively few fall turkey hunters, they now allow the use of dogs to hunt turkeys in the fall. My state also allows for the use of a dog for trailing wounded deer. I've had severak GWP's over the years that were very good at it. Stipulations are, the dog must be on a leash, and you cannot have a weapon with you. The dog can help you find a dead deer, but unless it's wounded bad enough it can't get up and you can cut it's throat, you are SOL.