Hokieman

Rick thats being selfish and immature and frankly childish, weither or not sunday hunting ever gets approved you still have your method of hunting you preffer, you haven't lost anything but if dog hunting gets banned or restricted so much its not an enjoyment thats a personal attack on hunting dog owners.

Bigg~BirddVA

You haven't lost anything when dog hunting gets fixed. It's alive and well in other states. Those that were interfered with by the dog hunters in those states get their hunting as it's supposed to be. Something many in VA presently don't get.

Checked out what a county in NC is proposing? Gee doesn't the fact that every hound hunting state is making changes say something? Denial isn't going to solve this.

Hokieman

Rick Hutson in all due respect. Your pushing for restricted dog hunting rules and regulations so that it will benefit your selfish time in the woods. Your using this Hound Study for your own personal agendia and it has been noted. thank you for your comments concerning this issue.

jessejmc1979

Any law banning any kind of hunting is bad. And anbody that doesn't understand that is not a true outdoorsman and a very selfish person. I would be willing to bet that some of the people that are griping about the hounds on this thread would be the loudest to complain and hope that people that hunt (even if its not the same kind of hunting) would go to bat for them istead of being ignorant and selfish!!!!

Bigg~BirddVA

Thanks Derrick Ratcliffe. Actually it's me and 60,000+ of my close archery friends to be more precise. We can't even count the land owner friends. And try not to think about all those friends that see it like your new anti-sunday hunting allies the HSUS brought in. And to think you guys once "did it" together! Just between me and you who was on top?

So now it's a personal agenda when people want to use their land as intended in a season as it's intended. Your attitude has also been noted as well as others attitudes and ideas based on selfish agendas for even more of a selfish season than what it presently is. It was quite a joke by the powers be when it was discussed how clueless the hound hunters really are to what's ahead and what the whole study is really about. As usual you fail to disappoint me with your comments and insight on your present situation. I would like add as mouthpiece for many you're doing a damn fine job of justifying the study.


BTW the study isn't about banning it's about fixing an out of control sect of hunting. Gee I even agreed to a chase season for deer hounds to help keep them off other lands. You have to love how only part of the message gets picked up and told by those that how shall we put it, have an agenda?

Hokieman

Gee Rick I guess I stepped on your toes. Your the one who barks the loudest on the internet campaign to do away with hound hunting or restrict it altogether. You Rick and only you Rick Hutson created an internet org of Virginia Hunters for Houndsman Reform. It has been you since the early part of febuary that has been stirring the pot and causing the most crap on each and every website I visited. You have been a true anti hound hunter speaker a leader and have lead many and have misrepresented many into believing that hound hunters are the problem when you yourself have been kick out of every dog hunting club you've ever joined because of your despisement of deer hunting with hounds. Your selfish and immature and want the woods all to yourself and when this Hound Hunting Study came out you and your anti hound friends who were pushing for sunday hunting jump on board to end houd hunting for you feel this was the reason behind not getting sunday hunting passed. Shame on you Rick Hutson for thinking this and shame on you for not being a sportsman and helping a fellow sportsman out instead of kicking them while their down. There is no need for a deer hound training season nor is there a need for new rules and regulations. this fight isn't over as we haven't brought the fight to anyone but set back and watched it unfold and done our homework. We will win this argument and put it to bed

Bigg~BirddVA

More lies but what do you expect? Fact its there was only 1 club. And I do not miss it at all. That's the first one.

You have proof the web site is mine? Thought not. If it was I would have your picture on it. Do you even see your name on there?

I am certainly not alone. I posted to counter your mass blanket of postings on every hunting site. I'm no more vocal than you are. I stirred up no more than you did. Each of us respectively in their own way doing the same. Actually you fueled a lot of my posts that were countering your agenda. And get it right will you, it's deer hound hunters I've had all of the issues with. Not rabbit, fox, or coon or anything else - deer hound hunters. I even left some public land fox hunters had a hunt going on because they asked me if I would so they could run their hunt on horses. 90% of the issues are only 1 sect. But I think all that will become crystal clear soon.

You'll win the fight? Wake up and smell the coffee. Rules are coming and you can fight all you want it's inevitable. Every other deer dog state has done it, VA will too. You must be on drugs to think VA is some sort of haven or exempt from action.

The whole refusal to acknowledge there is a problem and inability to compromise is half the dog hunters problems.

Save it till next year at this time and then tell me how the fight went.

LarryFox1

I don't know why anyone would want to stop a fellow Hunter from hunting the way he or she wants to hunt.This world is getting to be a crying shame,it is!
I for one have Deer hunted ever way one could ever want to hunt Deer.STILL Hunting/Man Drives/and yes DOG HUNTING.I can tell you this,There simply is no more Fun or THRILL than to have a Pack of DEER Hounds Running there hearts on a Hot Chase/Track coming right stright at you,JUST AINT'T,PLAIN AND SIMPLE..
and no body Nor the Gov should take that away are hinder a Deer Hound Hunter.

Rise up Deer Dog Hunter's in VA And all other Statesand take a Stand for what you love and the way you want to enjoy it,don't like some Yahoo are Group's take that away from you are your kids, EVER!!!

Bigg~BirddVA

Exactly. That's the whole issue. Dogs running on lands they don't have permission to be on and running after deer and claiming it's a fox are why we're at this point. along with some other issues they do. Had the dog hunters respected their fellow hunter and obeyed the game laws there would be no survey. When one group thinks they can run over another it's bound to catch up with them sooner or later.

Hokieman

Rick there is no difference in some deer hound hunters hunting unethically than rifle hunters, bow hunters, muzzleload hunters and crossbow hunters. every group has their very own unethical hunters but DGIF board members let a few elite landowners persude them into taking action and the Hound hunting study was approved. I don't see a study ever being done on other hunters and their methods of hunting. The hunting dog owners were singled out and thats the real problem.

Just so you know it is illegal to hunt deer over bait.

http://www.twincountynews.com/content/view/2238/1/





Effective September 1, Feeding Deer Will Be Illegal in Virginia








By Twin County News

Richmond, VA — Effective September 1, it will be illegal to feed deer statewide in Virginia. The prohibition runs through the first Saturday in January (January 3, 2009). The regulation designating the prohibition went into effect in 2006.
This regulation does NOT restrict the planting of crops such as corn and soybeans, wildlife food plots, and backyard or schoolyard habitats. It is intended to curb the artificial feeding of deer that leads to negative consequences.
Problems with feeding deer include: unnaturally increasing population numbers that damage natural habitats; disease transmission, including tuberculosis as well as many deer diseases; and human-deer conflicts such as deer/vehicle collisions and inappropriate semi-taming of wildlife.
In addition, feeding deer has many law enforcement implications. Deer hunting over bait is illegal in Virginia. Prior to the deer feeding prohibition, distinguishing between who was feeding deer and who was hunting over bait often caused law enforcement problems for the Department.
Deer Feeding was Booming Along with the Population
Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (VDGIF) Deer Project Coordinators Matt Knox and Nelson Lafon noted when the regulation first took effect that for more than twenty years the practice of feeding deer had expanded across the eastern United States among both deer hunters and the non-hunting general public. The most common reason for feeding deer is to improve their nutrition and to supplement the habitat's ability to support more deer; in other words, to increase the carrying capacity for deer.
According to Knox, many people feed deer because they believe it will keep them from starving, but this is not a legitimate reason to feed deer in Virginia. In Virginia, deer die-offs due to winter starvation have been almost nonexistent and according to Lafon, "We do not need more deer in Virginia. In fact, we need fewer deer in many parts of the state."
Nelson Lafon completed a revision of the Department's Deer Management Plan in June 2007. Based on his research, it appears that the citizens of the Commonwealth would like to see deer populations reduced over most of the state. Lafon noted that Virginia's deer herds could be described as overabundant from a human tolerance perspective and stated that feeding deer only makes this overabundance problem worse.
Is Your Bird Feeder Attracting Deer?
Supplemental feeding artificially concentrates deer on the landscape, leading to over-browsed vegetation, especially in and around feeding sites. Over-browsing destroys habitat needed by other species, including songbirds.
It is not unheard of for deer to take advantage of bird feeders and begin to eat spilled birdseed. Individuals who inadvertently are feeding deer through their bird feeders may be requested by VDGIF conservation police officers to temporarily remove feeders until the deer disperse.
Deer Are Wild Animals
In their natural state, deer are wild animals that have a fear of humans because we have preyed upon deer for thousands of years. However, when deer are fed by people, they lose this fear, becoming less wild and often semi-domesticated.
Fed deer are often emboldened to seek human foods, leading them into conflict with people. Despite their gentle appearance, they can become lethally dangerous during mating season capable of goring and slashing with their sharp hooves and antlers. There are numerous cases across the country of individuals injured, and in some cases even killed, by deer they treated as pets.
People often treat the deer they feed as if they own them, even going so far as to name individual deer. Not only does this association diminish the "wildness" of "wildlife", it also leads to a mistaken notion regarding ownership of wildlife. Deer and other wildlife are owned by citizens of the Commonwealth and are managed by the Department as a public resource.
Deer Feeding Congregates Animals, Increasing the Spread of Disease
The increase in deer feeding that has taken place in Virginia over the past decade now represents one of Virginia's biggest wildlife disease risk factors. According to VDGIF Wildlife Veterinarian Dr. Jonathan Sleeman, deer feeding sets the stage for maintaining and facilitating the spread of disease.
According to Dr. Sleeman, diseases are a big issue in deer management today across the United States. Feeding deer invariably leads to the prolonged crowding of animals in a small area, resulting in more direct animal to animal contact and contamination of feeding sites. Deer feeding has been implicated as a major risk factor and contributor in the three most important deer diseases in North America today. These include tuberculosis, brucellosis, and chronic wasting disease (CWD). Fortunately, none of these diseases have been found in deer in Virginia, although CWD is present in West Virginia, less than 5 miles from Frederick County, Virginia.
Please Don't Feed Deer
It is clear that the negative consequences of feeding deer outweigh the benefits. If you are not feeding deer, you should not start. If you are currently feeding deer, you should now stop. Feeding deer is against the law between September 1 and the first Saturday in January. If anyone sees or suspects someone of illegally feeding deer during this time period, or observes any wildlife violations, please report it to the Department's Wildlife Crime Line at 1-800-237-5712.
To learn more about Virginia wildlife regulations visit the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries website at www.dgif.virginia.gov.
It is the mission of the VDGIF to maintain optimum populations of all species to serve the needs of the Commonwealth; to provide opportunity for all to enjoy wildlife, inland fish, boating and related outdoor recreation and to work diligently to safeguard the rights of the people to hunt, fish and harvest game as provided for in the Constitution of Virginia; to promote safety for persons and property in connection with boating, hunting and fishing; to provide educational outreach programs and materials that foster an awareness of and appreciation for Virginia's fish and wildlife resources, their habitats, and hunting, fishing, and boating opportunities.