Citing increasing complaints from landowners, game department officials in Virginia and North Carolina have been looking at ways to regulate the use of dogs by hunters.
Virginia initiated its "Hunting with Hounds: A Way Forward" study that has incorporated various stakeholders who have identified problems and made proposals. At the heart of the debate is a conflict between hunters who use dogs and landowners who don't want hunters or dogs on their property.
Virginia has released preliminary recommendations and a report. Next are a series of public hearings. The Department of Game and Inland Fisheries is expected to act on several proposals in November.
"The stakeholders committee has done a fantastic job of identifying all the issues involved," said Bob Duncan, director of Virginia's game department.
Using dogs to help hunters track deer, raccoon, bear and other animals is a longtime tradition in the South. But many states, including Florida, Georgia and South Carolina, have instituted strict rules governing the practice.
North Carolina game officials are studying rules adopted in other states in an effort to come up with their own solutions.
"Conflicts escalate every year as development expands and hunting lands diminish," said Wes Seegars, chairman of the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission Board of Commissioners. "We all realize that most hunters do the right thing. But there are small groups of hunters that don't seem to respect the wishes of landowners, and that's not acceptable. We're hearing more and more complaints. So we have to do something about it."
North Carolina officials are considering a special license for each hunting dog and forbidding dogs on land where hunters and dogs do not have permission to be. If a dog is captured on such property, the hunter would be fined $250 for each violating animal. Continued violations could result in termination of hunting licenses.
Virginia will hold a public hearing for southeastern Virginia hunters and landowners Sept. 4 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. at King's Fork High School, 351 King's Fork Road, in Suffolk.
Bassin' champs
Rob Wilkinson and Doug Larson have been named The Bass Federation Region 7 co-Anglers of the Year. The two will compete in the Virginia Classic on the Potomac River in October.
Wilkinson is a former Suffolk resident living in King George. Larson works for the Norfolk Naval Shipyard and currently is assigned to a yard in South Carolina.
After four region tournaments, the two Backwoods Bassmaster teammates finished tied in overall points. Backwoods team members Scott Scheil and Ray Moore finished third and fourth, respectively.
Nature's fireworks
The most spectacular meteor showers of the year peak this week.
The Perseids will put on their best show in years at about
1:30 a.m. Tuesday. The showers will be visible by looking to the northeast. The best shows will be seen in rural areas or locations where city lights are nonexistent. But this year's show, according to Astronomy Magazine, will be visible at some level in all areas. Viewers can expect between 60 to 90 shooting stars an hour at peak, the article said.
The Perseids also can be seen for a few days before and after the peak, especially just before sunrise, after the moon has set.
Upcoming
- The Great Bridge Fisherman's Association will hold its monthly meeting at 7 a.m. Monday at Great Bridge Baptist Church, 640 S. Battlefield Blvd., Chesapeake. Brian Lockwood - known in fishing circles as "Jet Ski Brian" - will talk about fishing from a personal watercraft. For more information, call Butch Pierce at (757) 287-0330.
- The Norfolk Angler's Club will hold its monthly meeting at 7 p.m. Monday at Martin's Family Restaurant, 331 East Bayview Blvd., Norfolk. International Game Fish Association representative Julie Ball will be the guest speaker. For more information, www.norfolkanglersclub.com.
-The Tidewater Angler's Club will hold its monthly meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Bayside Presbyterian Church, 1500 Ewell Road, Virginia Beach. The public is welcome.
- A hunter safety class will be held Saturday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Branch 40 of the Fleet Reserve Association, located at 4060 Military Highway in Chesapeake. Registration is free, and lunch will be available for purchase. The class is mandatory for all new hunters and recommended for already licensed hunters. To register, e-mail Gerry McGowan: gerrymcgowan@verizon.net.
Results
- From the Cobb's Marina/Tidewater Angler's Club annual flounder tournament held last weekend out of Cobb's Marina in Little Creek Inlet:
1. Don Myers, Thomas Myers, John Kleinknecht and Justin Francis, 5 fish, 27.66 pounds total weight, $300; 2. Andy Thompson, Jeff Regal, Clayton Hicks, Chip Kimnach, 5 fish, 26.54, $200; 3. Quetin Munson, Aubrey Williams, Ben Taylor, Bill Etheridge, 5 fish, 23.96, $100. Biggest fish: Don Myers, 8 pounds, 8 ounces, $840.
Delicious
Digg
Reddit
Facebook
Google
Yahoo
It's about time
The problems of hound hunting have been building for years. Glad the state is finally taking a long overdue look at it. Unfortunately why spend so much of the taxpayers $$$ on it? Virtually every other southern state that had hound hunting has been forced to take action in recent years. Some private actions resulted in lawsuits that the hound hunters lost. Georgia has a very successful program that allowed for the continuation of the hound hunting tradition yet provided relief form the many issues the hound hunters created. Adopting or slightly modifying a similar working program would have saved the state a lot of money. Hound hunters in VA are no different than hound hunters in other states.