Reprinted from my Know Whitetails column in the November 2005 issue of Whitetail Journal Samuel
Using dogs to hunt deer in the southeastern United States goes back to the Colonial days. East of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia colonial hunters used dogs to chase deer. Over the years that led to the formation of private hunting clubs in those areas where that dog hunting tradition continues today. In fact, the dogging-for-deer tradition remains in parts of nine southeastern states. Of those, only Florida and Mississippi allow dogging on all state private lands.
Dog hunting for deer evolved in part because there were very wet, thick, lowland swamps and forests where still hunting for deer was difficult. Using dogs to run deer from such areas to hunters was the chosen method for some hunters for hundreds of years.
In the "good ole’days" a dog hunter could get 3-6 farmers to join together thus allowing deer hunting on tracts that were in excess of 20,000 acres. Dog/deer hunting on such vast acreages led to few conflicts with other hunters or landowners. However, things have changed. As farmers passed on, their properties were subdivided and sold. Out-of-state ownership of small parcels increased.. Bowhunting (a form of hunting that is obviously not conducive to the use of dogs) also increased. As land parcels got smaller, more conflicts would, and did, occur.
In the past problems arose because hunters competed for areas to run their dogs. Such competition led to trespassing (both to retrieve dogs and to hunt) and this upset private landowners. Trespassing still occurs today and thoroughly upsets private landowners. On occasion the results of trespassing led to a few notorious doggers threatening private landowners who didn’t "cooperate." This practice, though uncommon, occurs often enough that it gives good doggers a bad name.
Non hunters and others get upset when public roads are blocked by dog hunters. It happens. And when dog hunters have negative interactions with non hunters, it gives all hunters a bad name.
Perhaps most upsetting for non dog hunters are the disruptions while hunting on private, posted land. From personal experience I can tell you that nothing bothers a still hunter more than having a deer hound ruin a morning’s hunt. For several years I bowhunted a great, 2500-acre bottomland hardwood in Alabama. It was private, posted land, but that didn’t seem to matter. After three years of constant encounters with dogs that ruined my stand hunting, I quit spending my bowhunting money in Alabama. A letter to the wildlife agency indicating the problem brought a "ho-hum" response.
Many dog hunters strive to obey laws. They place standers where they can intercept the dogs and they won’t run the same area in successive weeks. They get criticized for running the deer "ouot of the country," but that isn’t supported by telemetry data. Such data shows that deer hunted by dogs either remain in their home range or return immediately after the hunt.
However, running dogs on rural, private, lands isn’t as easy as it once was. Today, large tracts have been divided and sold to urbanites who build vacation homes where they retreat on weekends. Access on such lands for running hounds has decreased considerably. With more non-resident landowners, comes more conflicts and these have led to demands for new restrictions. Most dog hound hunters realize that if there are no compromises, their hunting tradition may not continue. There is no question that without some changes the downward trend in dog hunting will continue.
Georgia is a prime example of a state that has seen the problem and made a response. In 1949 one could use dogs to hunt deer in 63 Georgia counties. By 1980 that was down to 46 counties and today only portions of 41 counties are open to dog hunting for deer. Complaints in Georgia have increased and because of that four Georgia counties proposed to eliminate all dog hunting for deer and six other counties were considering similar regulations. Thus, in 2003 Georgia implemented new dog hunting regulations.
Before doing so, surveys were done to determine support for this form of hunting. It showed that there was only a 29% support of dog hunting for deer by the general public. Only 39% of all hunters supported it, and private landowner support was 20-30 percent. The hand writing was on the wall and new restrictions were implemented. .
The Georgia restrictions are unique and will probably be the model that other states use in the future. Dog-deer hunting now requires a permit, but one can only be issued to those who have 1,000 contiguous acres. Obviously permits often cover lands under multiple ownerships with public roads intersecting the area. Dogs must remain on the permitted property and public roads may not be blocked. If there are violations of any kind, the permit can be revoked.
During the first year permits were issued to 358 clubs, and 78% had no problems. There were 219 complaints, 89 citations issued and 2 permit revocations. In 2004 there were 88 complaints, 28 citations and 0 revocations. This level of complaints is the lowest in many years, so obviously this approach has merit.
Over the past 20 years Florida has tried various ways to reduce conflicts over deer hunting with dogs, but as everywhere, complaints have increased. As this is being written, Florida is evaluating a pilot permit system for all deer/dog hunting on private lands in the Northwest Region of the state. That area was selected because it has the most serious conflicts and complaints. If all goes as expected this program will expand to all private lands statewide.
Nothing stays the same in this world, and the use of dogs to chase deer will also change. If the approaches taken by Georgia and Florida are successful, dog hunting for deer, though much reduced, will still remain. This time-old traditional method of hunting will only exist if conflicts can be reduced or eliminated.
