My name is James Hudson, owner and operator of the Hounds Tales Podcast, Hounds Tales LLC, the Chairman of the Appomattox chapter of the Virginia Hunting Dog Alliance, and a lifelong houndsmen. The reason for me writing to you is to express my feelings and explain why me and many houndsman alike believe that the hound dog trespass regulation that the DWR is trying to pass should be turned down. The first point I would like to touch on is the "can of worms" it would open up for Virginians as a whole. Where do we draw the line on the hound dog trespass? My neighbor has beagles that are house dogs, never ran a deer or bear in their life, when they come on my property, can I call and report them? If I don't want them on my property, who's to say I did or didn't see them running a deer across my yard? Then at that point they probably don't have a tracking system on so now I would like to have the regulations charged against them for running dogs without the tracking system as well.

 

Virginia is an open leash law state, correct? Why are we isolating it down to bear and deer dogs? Even you have to see that it is not fair to dwindle it down to two specific types of hunting dogs. I'm a deer dog man and have been my whole life. 99.9% of the time when a dog does happen to end up on a property that they are not wanted on, it is a matter of minutes at most that the hounds are on a person's property while running deer. Deer don't tree, they don't bay up, it is a matter of passing through. In fact one could insinuate that there is a good chance that the landowner impeded a hunt to stop the dog and recover the information off the hound to contact the game warden and/or owner of said hound. Also on this point, what are we calling deer and bear dogs? Walker hounds? Beagles? Bird dogs? Treeing Walkers? Labs? Retriever style dogs? All of which I have seen with my own eyes run a deer. So again, when my neighbor's yellow lab comes onto my property and this regulation passes, can I call the game warden and have them press charges? 

 

I remember growing up hunting with dogs my entire life. It was one of the few times my dad and grandpa would stop working on the farm equipment, getting things done around the house, and just enjoying themselves. For those six or seven weeks, the common working man could go out and enjoy his time with his hounds, his friends, and his family. No it is not the cheapest sport in the world but the common man can usually afford to do it. My biggest fear about this regulation is wondering what the repercussions will be? Are we going to make the fine so hefty that the common blue collar man that just wants to enjoy the sound of his hounds can't even go out to run without the fear of having to pay a big fine, lose his license, or have charges pressed against him? Please if you don't hear anything else in this email, hear this, don't price out the working man to where we can't pass this down to the next generations.

 

There are not many states left in this country that still allow the art of running a deer with dogs. While I understand that VA is a growing state and the wide open country is steadily shrinking around us, giving up the rights that we have held dear to our hearts should not be part of this growth. Giving outsiders this ammunition to help end our heritage just plain and simple isn't right. The Virginia government shut down this almost exact bill just a few short months ago, don't let the DWR override what has already been turned down in a higher assembly than it. 

 

I know this regulation isn't "ending" deer dog and bear dog hunting per say, but it is going to put a huge sting to the dog hunting community. Please look at the numbers, I know you all are sick and tired of hearing about this issue and I think the landowners have pushed you all so far that it is starting to seem that the only way to end this debate is to end dog hunting in a slow and steady process. We are not blind, we see that's the direction that it appears to be going. What I'm begging you all to do is truly look at the numbers, the number of complaints from the same people, the bad apples that are out there that have a number so low it's less than a percent. Look at the revenue that the state will lose if dog hunting is eliminated. Lastly, look at the deer population problem you will have when all these houndsmen hang it up and never load a gun up again. I know I sure won't ever buy a hunting license again if I can't pursue game the way I enjoy and was raised on. The numbers don't lie, don't let a minor amount of angry landowners with a vendetta and a lot of money change the way things are done here in Virginia. Please do the right thing and oppose and turn down this hound dog trespass regulation. Save our heritage. Save hound Hunting.