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Louisiana Legislature agrees to preserve fox pen hunting by declaring it folklife
Louisiana Legislature agrees to preserve fox pen hunting by declaring it folklife
Emily Lane, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune By Emily Lane, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune The Times-Picayune
May 22, 2014 at 12:50 PM, updated May 22, 2014 at 12:51 PM
The state Senate gave final passage Thursday (May 22) to a bill that declares fox pen hunting an official part of Louisiana's culture, despite some lawmakers' unwillingness to endorse what they called a "blood sport."
The House bill, sponsored by Rep. Sherman Mack, R-Livingston, won final passage from the state Senate Thursday by a vote of 36-1. The bill makes the sport part of Louisiana's folklife heritage, allowing it to be preserved. Sen. J.P. Morrell, D-New Orleans, who has sponsored bills on behalf of the Humane Society of the United States, was the sole objector.
Challenge to the bill came in on the House floor May 12, when opponents described the practice as dozens of dogs attacking a fox in an enclosed space until the fox dies.
Rep. James Armes, a D-Leesville, who spoke on behalf of the measure, said the sport goes back to Charlemagne and has been practiced in Louisiana for years. Mack said in Louisiana, the foxes are chased up a tree and aren't killed.
The Senate voted without any debate on the bill. It now goes to Gov. Bobby Jindal's desk before becoming law.