Please read the proposal below concerning the suggested elimination of the two (2) components of the annual shut down of the Indiana Coonhound running season. This proposal will be reviewed by the Natural Resources Advisory Council next week, August 15th so your input is needed TODAY.
Please e-mail your support of this proposal today to Jennifer Kane, Natural Resources Commission, Division of Hearings jkane@nrc.IN.gov
In your e-mail please describe all the sporting groups you represent such as; deer hunting, fox hunting, coyote hunting, bird hunting, trapping, rabbit hunting, etc, etc. The more, the better!
Thank you,
Jerry Moll-HTDA
jmoll@saltcreekch.com
Attention Hoosier Sportsmen!
As you know, there are many species of wild game being hunted and pursued with the aid of sporting dogs in our great state of Indiana; rabbit, squirrel, pheasant, quail, duck, geese, grouse, coyote, fox, raccoon and opossum. Under current Indiana law, a Hoosier Sportsman may hunt and train their beagle, treeing cur, pointer, retriever or running hound, 24/7-365 days per year so long as they are not taking game during the off season. The same holds true for owners, handlers and trainers of dogs utilized in non-hunting activities, such as; Conformation, Tracking, Lure Coursing, Obedience, Herding, Agility, Earth-Dog and Rally. On the other hand, owners, trainers and handlers of Raccoon Hounds are not as fortunate, they are restricted to “
taking season” and the antiquated “
running season” in which to work, train and exercise their hounds.
There are two (2) separate components of the annual shut down of the Indiana Coonhound running season. The first shutdown segment is immediately following the raccoon taking season in February and the second part is immediately prior to taking season in October and November. These two (2) shut down periods constitute forty (40) days/nights per year in which the Hoosier Houndsmen
may not turn their dog loose. This matter has been discussed with Department Heads of the Fish & Wildlife and Law Enforcement Divisions of the IDNR in January of 2007; they concurred there were no solid biological or enforcement rationale to keep these two unnecessary shutdown periods intact.
There are many good, solid reasons why Hoosier Houndsmen
desire and
merit unrestricted training of their hounds. On the flip side, we know from experience that when there is a DNR rule modification proposed someone will oppose the change, even if it does not affect them positively or negatively in the least way. Sometimes this opposition may come from a position of wanting political leverage on their group’s next big issue. Other times resistance could come from basic human nature, fear of change, envy and/or lack of knowledge about the subject at hand. Below is a listing of these advantages to the Houndsmen and the apprehensions being voiced by a few others concerning this proposal along with the hard facts surrounding this proposal.
Advantages for the Houndsmen:
• To earn the same year-round rights and freedoms to hunt and train our hounds 24/7, 365 days per year that all other sporting and companion dog owners of Indiana benefit from every day, thus providing a level playing field for all
• To create the opportunity to spend 40 more days and nights enjoying our great Indiana Natural Resources
• To create the opportunity for 40 more days and nights to spend with our loyal canine companions; giving them needed attention, training and exercise
• To give our children and grand children additional opportunity to experience the Tree Dog Sports, to commune with nature, now and in the future
• We all need more reasons to be in our great outdoors getting exercise with our families Vs spending more idle time in front of the television set
Concerns of other sporting groups:
• Concern this change could somehow affect the access or ability of trappers to catch furbearers during this revised Coonhound running period
• Concern this change could somehow affect the movement of the deer herd, negatively affecting deer hunter success during this revised Coonhound running period
Facts about this proposal:
• During the current 40 days/nights shutdown to Coonhounds, all other sporting dogs and free roaming farm/companion dogs of Indiana have 24/7 access to Indiana’s public and private lands, so very little will actually change as far as additional dogs in the woods are concerned
• During the current 40 days/nights of shutdown, Coonhounds are presently being free cast in licensed competitive events under IDNR permits every night of the week, except Sunday, so very little will actually change as far as additional Coonhounds in the woods
• If these two shut down periods were to open up, obviously not every Coonhunter would take advantage of every opportunity each night, but the option would be there if they chose to take advantage of it
• There have been many scientific studies and experiments conducted as to the effects (or lack thereof) of hound hunting on movements of Whitetail Deer relating to hunter success
• The most comprehensive study of the effects of hounds on Whitetail Deer was conducted by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources in conjunction with Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Wildlife at Clemson University, Clemson, SC and Westvaco Corporation:
http://www.dnr.sc.gov/wildlife/publicat ... impact.pdf Please take the time to read and understand this convincing report.
• These scientific studies have proven without a doubt that Coonhunting has no positive or negative influence upon deer hunter success
• As a side note there was simultaneous data collected on the movement of Wild Turkey during some of these studies, again with no positive or negative effect on Turkey hunting success
• Based upon the bullet points listed above, the effects of this change on Hoosier Trappers, Deer Hunters and other Indiana Sportsmen would be minuscule and ultimately barely discernible
Bottom line:
• We can find no
logical reason for not permitting every Hoosier Sporting Dog owner, regardless of the breed or game pursued, to have the same opportunity to enjoy our magnificent Indiana Outdoor resource, can you?
