As many of you already know, the Virginia Hunting Dog Alliance has proposed a new regulation that you must buy a separate bear tag in Virginia. This is a selfish proposal designed to limit the number bear harvests by deer hunters without dogs. This is the same group that opposed hunting on Sunday in Virginia, so that dog hunters can have a day to round up their dogs off other people's private property without having to worry about bumping into hunters.

You can comment on this proposed online. Under the law regarding administrative agencies, such as VDGIF, they are required to consider public comments when deciding on new regulations.

Please take a moment to give them your thoughts. You can sign up for free by inputting your name and address; this is a safe and secure government website.

http://www.dgif.virginia.gov/regulations/comment/display.asp


Here is my comment, just posted:

I disagree strongly with this proposed regulation. In fact, I would rather see the price of every single hunting license in Virginia increased $25 than to see this new regulation passed.

If this regulation is passed, many people who hunt for deer will not purchase bear tags because they know there is little chance of seeing a bear from a deer stand. In my 15 years of deer hunting, I have only ever seen a bear from a deer stand once. The primary people who will purchase bear tags will be people who hunt bear with dogs. Accordingly, many deer hunters who have a once-in-a-lifetime experience of seeing a bear from a deer stand will not have the opportunity to harvest the bear, because they chose not to purchase the additional tag each year in view of the very slim chances of seeing a bear.

By passing this regulation, bear harvest in Virginia will basically be limited to people who hunt with dogs. Keeping a kennel of hunting dogs is not practical for most hunters, and is considered by many to be a nuisance and unethical. By this statement, I am not referring to people who keep a house dog which is trained to bird hunt; I am referring to people who keep half a dozen or more walkers or beagles constantly confined in small cages in their yard. Even if I had the land and resources to engage in such a practice, I would not because I believe it is unethical and a nuisance.

It appears to me that this proposal is proferred by the VHDA solely in order to limit the opportunities of hunters without dogs. I believe this is a selfish proposal by an organization of hunters that is pursuing regulation for their own benefit to the detriment of the average hunter. For these reasons, I strongly urge VDGIF not to pass this regulation.