The October 21, 2008 Richmond Times Dispatch has a full page anti-hunting hound display advertisement by Humane Society of the US (HSUS. The A9 page cost $4500 and includes a picture of a soulful-eyed hound the following text:

Is this the face of a time-honored tradition?

The ugly reality of Virginia's hound hunting
"tradition" means the abandonment of dogs too old or sick to keep up the chase, as well as widespread trespassing by hunters on posted property.

Tell the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries that the Commonwealth needs a solution to hound hunting that protects the welfare of dogs, promotes humane treatment of woldlife, and safeguards the rights of landowners. Contact the department today at 804-367-1000 or dgifweb@dgif.virginia.gov.

For more information,
visit humanesociety.org/virginiahounds

Bob Kane
Virginia Hunting Dog Owners' Association
Chairman Emeritus, Sportsmen and Animal Owners' Voting Alliance
http://vhdoa.uplandbirddog.com http://saova.org

Virginia: Hounded to Death
©The HSUS

This dog was emaciated and missing an ear and much of his fur when an HSUS supporter took him in, named him "Chase" and got him vet care.

The practice of hound hunting—using packs of dogs, some equipped with radio transmitters—to chase and hunt deer, bears and other wildlife has become an increasingly controversial and hotly-debated issue in many areas, particularly in Virginia. And rightly so.

After receiving hundreds of complaints from landowners, animal advocates and even hunters, the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (VDGIF) created a Stakeholder Advisory Committee to analyze the situation and develop a solution. Unfortunately, half the committee is composed of hound hunters and its proposed recommendations are mainly voluntary, unenforceable, heavily biased in favor of hunting with packs of dogs, and fail to address the serious animal welfare issues involved.

HSUS members submitted more than two thousand comments to the Stakeholder Advisory Committee and the VDGIF, condemning the current regulations which allow for the gross mistreatment of both hounds and wildlife. The HSUS also submitted extensive comments.

Dozens of HSUS members report hound hunters hunting illegally on their property, damaging their property and crops, and clearing roads on their land posted with no hunting signs. Packs of hunting dogs—sometimes containing 40 or more hounds—terrorize landowners in and out of legal hunting season at all hours of the day and night, harassing livestock, wildlife and pets. When confronted, some hound hunters have become verbally abusive.

Our members are most concerned about the treatment of the dogs used for hunting. In particular, hunters routinely abandon their dogs when they fail to perform well, become old, or sometimes even if they become pregnant, leaving them to starve, be hit by cars, be picked up by a kind-hearted neighbor, or fill up local animal shelters. Hound hunters often fail to provide proper veterinary care, treat wounds or vaccinate their dogs. Hounds are most commonly severely emaciated and are kept in small kennels all but a few weeks a year.

Our members and supporters in Virginia provide shocking details of their experiences.

"Emaciated dogs come onto my property, dogs with ribs sticking out so far they collapse-gasping for air; some have even died here...I pull dead or dying dogs off the roads—this year alone I removed nine, last year 14."

"I am a volunteer with a humane society and more than 50 percent of our intake results from irresponsible owners of hunting dogs. They release old, diseased or poor performing animals into the wild...Over 80 percent are heartworm positive."

"Many of the dogs that I see running through fields are emaciated, have untreated wounds and their living conditions are horrible...When they do not perform well...they are shot. If they go missing, the hunters rarely care."

"I rescued a hunting dog that came into my yard five years ago. I called the owner and he said 'Aw...she'll be alright. Just leave her.' I told him I would hold her until he picked her up and he never came to get her."

"The hounds all have been undernourished and extremely skinny, some downright emaciated, with their bones sticking out at hips, ribs, chest, etc."

"Their poor feet are cut and bruised from running through brambles."

"The majority of them do not feed the dogs adequately so that they are hunting because they are starving. They make no real effort to find the dogs but rely on the animal shelter to pick them up or someone (like me) to find them...I just adopted a very old female beagle from the shelter. She had a hunter's ID on her collar but, when the shelter called him, he said she was not his. In reality, she wasn't useful to him any more so he didn't care what happened to her."

"Hunting dogs often show up on my doorstep. They are malnourished, scared and covered with ticks and fleas!"

"Following deer season I routinely see starving deer dogs by the side of the road and often DEAD deer dogs IN the road."

"My Maggie, a foxhound, was left to die on a busy interstate outside of Petersburg...She was so emaciated that you could count each of her bones. Years later, when she needed x-rays the veterinarian said, 'You do know she's been shot.'...He then produced the films and showed me (to my horror) that pellets were throughout her entire body, from skull to tail! Too many to even count."

Dogs are often injured during the chase as well, particularly during bear hunts. Some bears do not meekly scamper away but turn and fight, and reports of bears injuring or killing one or all of the dogs are not uncommon.

Hunting with packs of dogs is particularly inhumane for wildlife as well. Animals are often run repeatedly until the point of exhaustion, and if the dogs reach their quarry before the hunter does, they can tear apart the animal. According to one hunter who contacted The HSUS, "Two years ago I found two black bear cubs that had been killed. Both weighed approximately 20 to 30 pounds...The cub looked to have been chewed up pretty badly by the dogs and had apparently been hit with a rock, likely to kill the cub after the dogs had seriously wounded it."

It is clear that Virginia needs a sound solution to the problem of hunting with packs of dogs, one that recognizes the abundant problems associated with the welfare of the dogs, the treatment of wildlife and respect for others' property rights.

What You Can Do

Send your comments to the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, letting them know that hound hunting is cruel to both hounds and wildlife.
Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries

4010 West Broad Street

P.O. Box 11104

Richmond, VA 23230

dgifweb@dgif.virginia.gov

Attend the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries' Board Meeting, which will focus on the proposed recommendations for regulations about hound hunting in Virginia. Demand that the VDGIF take animal welfare seriously.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
9 a.m.
4000 W. Broad Street
Richmond, VA 23230

If you live in an area where hound hunting is practiced and need to report a wildlife crime, call: 1-800-237-5712. For non-emergency, 24-hour dispatch call: 804-367-1258.

Document the hound hunting you see! Take pictures and videos and send them to us, particularly of abused hunting dogs. You can contact us or receive more information by email at huntingissues@hsus.org or by calling 301-721-6423.

Write a letter to the editor of your local paper, informing readers about this issue. Urge the state to take action to stop the inhumane treatment of both hunting dogs and wildlife.

What kind of name is roaddog? Are you one of them night shooters?Gang something or what? Cause I smell some chicken licking....and it's not coming from Golden Skillet...You been all over this web post...with your yellow back two pennies worth..I bet you were so ugly as a baby dog your mama put you in a corner and feed you thru a slingshot..Put your real Dog face name on the post or just stay off....Sparky D.....

Sounds like someone needs to control road mutt!!!!

10-4 burtwells