Hound Hunters Are Not Cruel Killing Monsters
Written By Treeing Walkers
I’m a fellow hound hunter and I’ve been reading articles that have been published in the last 6 months that have mislead the public about the hound hunting community. We as a lot of people believe, are not cruel, killers and immoral. We have a sport that a lot of the public doesn’t understand. The public has been mislead and railroaded to think that we are a bunch of redneck killers. Yes it’s true most of the hound hunters drive a muddy Toyota truck with a dog box in the bed. But as any hunter would know driving in the woods your truck is going to get muddy. The box is to haul the hounds to and from the woods safely. It’s a must in the hound hunting world. For people saying we don’t have a sport that is far from the truth. We as hound hunters pride ourselves in our sport and the more we love and take good care of our hounds. To contrary belief we invest a lot of time and money into our beloved hounds. Any hound hunter would tell you that we go to great lengths to keep our beloved hounds out of harms way. Just as the next dog owner would. Of course our dogs are in the woods hunting as they have been bred to do for over 100 years now. They are in situations that a normal non-working dog isn’t, but that is because they are working dogs. They go through different training than a non working dog is accustomed to. They also go through some of the same training that non working dogs go through to. Is it wrong or cruel to train the dog for what it’s been bred to do?? I say no. I would say it’s crueler to the dog to not train it for what it’s been bred to do. Hounds are a very smart breed. They deserve to be out doing what they are bred to do as any lab deserves to be a bird dog. We hound hunters care and love for our hounds as we do for our sport.
I have read in other articles, comments that we don’t have a sport, we are killers. Contrary to the belief we are killers we as hound hunters don’t harvest 10% of what we tree. Even in states where cougar and bear hunting is legal to hunt with hounds. Since Dec. 1, 2003, hunters holding special permits have tracked and killed 43 of 61 cougars targeted for removal this year under a long-term plan to reduce cougar populations in areas where they are raising the greatest concerns. That ongoing effort follows on the heels of the regular hunting season, when hunters took more than 100 cougars statewide. Only about 30% of all special permitees under last year's new system were able to remove cougars It’s also a fact that 90% of treed game is done by 10% of the hound hunters. Why you ask? It’s a fact that training a hound to hunt and tree game consistently is a full time job. Not anybody off the street can buy a hound puppy and take that hound to the woods and tree game. Without the proper training a hound isn’t an efficient hunting hound. Then after you have a trained hound you still can’t take it to the woods and catch game, maybe if you are lucky here and there. It takes a skilled hunter to know the games habitat and where it more than likely is at. After the hunter has done his homework and with luck on his side he may then put trained hounds down and let the dogs work from there. Of course we have radio collars on our beloved hounds but this is to insure that they come home safe. Contrary to past beliefs that we follow the radio signal to the hounds treed is not true. When the hounds are on a trail you can hear where they are going and when they tree. Hound hunters don’t just let their hounds out and sit back and drink beer and wait till they feel the hounds have treed then turn on the tracking box and find where they are. From the time the hounds hit the ground till they are back in our trucks we are trying our hardest to keep up with them and follow everywhere they go. Most hound hunters very rarely use their tracking box. Of course time to time you’ll find yourself in a situation where the hounds have crossed over a ridge or through a canyon that takes more time to get around or cross then it took the hounds. At these times is where the collars come into play. Wouldn’t it be more inhumane to not have the collars to help find your lost hounds ??
Another point I keep reading about is how unsporting it is to release hounds and walk into a tree and harvest the game. The numbers will show that this is an efficient way of harvesting the right animal for age and gender. This is how we can preserve our game animals that no other hunting method can. I disagree with the
made by supporters of the ban that hunting cougars with hounds is not humane. Hounds tree the cat they’re chasing, which allows the hunter to get a good look at the cat before shooting it. The alternative that’s been used since the ban went into effect is to let people shoot on sight. What’s more humane ?? The state of Washington reported that since 1996’s ban took effect that the average cat has been 3 years old and mostly females. Prior to the ban the average was 5 years old and mostly males. The female harvest went way up, resulting in the death of existing kittens and a steep drop in the production of new litters. When it’s in a tree, if you use a hound, you’re right there, and if the hunter is experienced they can tell what sex it is and decide not to take it. It’s more selective way of controlling the species. As for just walking into a tree it’s not that easy. Most of the time when the hounds tree it’s a mile or more off any road. This is no stroll through the park. These trees are usually located in the nastiest part of the wilderness that the average person would shutter at hiking into. It is physically demanding to hike into most trees. This is the part that most people over look.
Hound hunters are real people with families and jobs. There is not one unemployed hound hunter that is hunting. We hound hunters have very good family and pet morals. We are no different then any other person except we enjoy a sport that most don’t understand or want to understand. Hound hunting is a family tradition. Most hound hunters have learned from a father, grandfather or close friend that showed them the way. There is no difference between bird hunting with gundogs to hound hunting. Both are sports and done for the love of the breed. Just so happens that dogs are used so that gives the uneducated public the thought that they must be not a sport hunter and are cruel killers. In fact we are not. Just as with any sport there are bad apples involved. These bad apples give any sport they are affiliated with a bad name, and that is what has happened to hound hunters. We had a few bad apples not hunting with in our ethic manner and got caught and the rest of the law abiding hound hunters feel the after math. To say that a sport that had a bad apple involved and got caught needs to be banned is unfair and unjust. If that was the case there would be no sports left. The numbers show that it takes 40 times the hunters to get the same result as it did before the ban took place. Instead of 1,500 Washington hunters with cougar permits prior to the ban, now there are nearly 60,000. Running across a cougar in the wild, is like getting struck by lightning. When I look at that harvest, what it tells me is we must have a huge number of cougars out there for people to be stumbling across them and shooting them.
As for the next time you encounter a hound hunter in the woods or at a gas station say hi and see how they respond. I think you’ll be surprised that they are just the same as the majority of tax paying citizens. You even might make a new friend. Try to talk instead of pointing fingers and pushing your beliefs on somebody else. We all don’t have the same beliefs or past times is that not why we live in America. Is this not “The Land of The Free and Home of The Brave”??
