Hunting deer with dogs, a way of life in some parts of South Georgia, has gained some powerful enemies this year.
Several members of the state Board of Natural Resources are threatening to outlaw the practice in at least one county if the Legislature doesn' t do something to rein in the hunters. The board is likely to at least shorten what' s called the dog hunting season in four of the 41 counties where it' s allowed.
Board member and former Lt. Gov. Pierre Howard said he knows people who live in fear of the dog hunters and feel trapped in their homes during the hunting season from November to January.
" It' s almost like anarchy," Howard said. " I' m telling you, somebody' s going to get killed."
The state Department of Natural Resources, which regulates hunting, is looking closely at four counties considered hot spots: Candler, Emanuel, Jenkins and Screven.
Todd Holbrook, chief of the state' s game management section, said there' s been at least one fight between a hunter and a neighbor in Jenkins. The state also has received complaints about hunters trespassing and threatening to hurt people and damage property.
And most of the 495 landowners surveyed in the four counties said they oppose dog hunting. In Candler, the opposition was 80 percent.
But Holbrook and other state officials said the problems are caused by a small percentage of dog hunters. Most dog hunting clubs stay on their own property, often leased from timber, pulp and paper companies. The problem clubs ignore their neighbors' property rights, allowing their dogs to chase deer onto private land and across public roads.
Bobby Schwallenberg of Collins, president of the Georgia Dog Hunters Association, said his group would support regulations that require dog hunting clubs to register with the state. The ones that cause problems could lose their hunting permits, he said. " If we have a problem club, we don' t want them out there. We do support ethical dog hunting. It' s family-oriented."
The DNR board has been asked to resolve disputes over dog hunting in the past, and has outlawed such hunting in several counties. But opposition has flared again as rural counties where it' s still allowed have become more crowded.
Hope things work out and the season isnt shortened, perhaps the clubs will just have to register. A few bad apples may ruin it for everyone it seems [:' (]
Hate to say it, but deer hunting with dogs is quickly going the way of the dinosaur. High amounts of land needed for dog hunting, increased rates for leasing land and the influx of people moving to the country that don' t like dog hunting don' t mix. While there are a lot of ethical dog hunting clubs, it doesn' t take but a few bad apples to ruin it for everyone else. In Florida they have a new law where if you have your dogs tresspassing on non-permitted property you can get a ticket for " Hunters Responsibility" . I' m not sure what the fine is, but a friend of mine got a ticket.
This is from a post at the Woody' s forum (mostly Ga hunters) The guy works for the DNR I believe.
Quote:
Replace dog hunter or dog hunting with hunter and hunting , respectively. Do you feel the same way?
Fact is, Pierre did not overstate the case. Many years ago, a person was killed over a dog deer hunting incident and the tensions prior to that were about as high as they are today.
The issue here is not dog deer hunting, but a few disrespectful, unethical hunters. As it stands, there are currently only two options for handling this environment - restrict the days for dog deer hunting or eliminate it from a county. This is painting with a broad brush. Every hunter gets painted with bad apples color. None of us prefer to be painted with the dregs of our community, do we?
What has been needed here is a new tool. A tool that allows the problem clubs to excised from the good, the bad apples located and then thrown out of teh bunch. A scalpel instead of a paintbrush. As a result, the Georgia Dog Hunters Assoc. met with Rep. Bob Lane and drafted legislation that if it passes will provide DNR a tool to handle these situations while still maintaining a part of our hunting heritage. The bill is HB 845 and is in the Rules Committee waiting on a chance to go to the floor of the House for a vote. The good, ethical hunters who participate in dog deer hunting could use some assistance from the rest of us hunters - United we satnd; Divided we fall. If you do not stand up for them we they need it, then why should they help you when you need it?
FYI, the fight in Jenkins County was an unethical, disrespectful hunter who broke the jaw of a landowner in front of the landowner' s 13-year old grandson becuase the hunter was trespassing.
GA Looks at Deer Hunting With Dogs
