The Future of Foxhunting: We Have Seen the Enemy and He Is Us
Foxhunting is and will continue to be embattled on two fronts: (1) animal rights activism and (2) loss of open space. The good news is that we have strategies for dealing with these pressures. The uncertainty rests with our own will and dedication, as Walt Kelly’s cartoon character Pogo told us many years ago. Now and in the future, we need to look harder within…at us.
GAO Says U.S. Congress Harmed Horse Welfare
In a blunt report to the U.S. Congress, the General Accounting Office (GAO) says that horse welfare has been harmed by Congressional action. Prompted by animal rights groups, Congress, in 2006, passed a law which eliminated funding to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for the inspection of horses in transit to slaughter and at […]
Federal Judge Protects Hunting on Public Lands
Sportsmen won a major courtroom battle when Federal Judge James S. Gwin in Columbus, Ohio denied a lawsuit seeking to close hunting on fifty refuges within the National Wildlife Refuge System. The lawsuit was filed in 2003 by the Fund for Animals, which later merged with the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS). The […]
Right-to-Hunt Prop 109 Defeated in Arizona
The ballot measure to make hunting a constitutional right was defeated by Arizona voters. Poor communication among pro-hunting groups, confusing language in the legislation, and large expenditures by the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) opposing the bill were cited as reasons for the measure’s defeat. A single cash donation by HSUS of $250,000 […]
Irish Foxhunters Secure Concessions
Irish foxhunters, shattered by legislation earlier this year banning the 154-year-old Ward Union Staghounds, have been holding their collective breath for the next shoe to fall. The Green Party, instrumental in the staghound ban, were pushing additional legislation that would require all dog breeding establishments with five or more breeding bitches to be licensed and […]
Sportsmen Seek Constitutional Protection for Hunting
Four states—Arkansas, Arizona, South Carolina, and Tennessee—have right-to-hunt referendums on the ballot this year. Kentucky may follow. Such constitutional guarantees have already been passed in nine states: Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Minnesota, Montana, Oklahoma, Vermont, Virginia, and Wisconsin, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Not all the legislation has been recent; Vermont passed their […]
Puppy Mill Legislation Considered in Congress
June 29, 2010
Legislative initiatives to curb puppy mills, in recent years brought before numerous state legislatures, is now in the hands of both houses of the U.S. Congress. The so-called PUPS Act (Puppy Uniform Protection Statute) would require dog breeders who sell more than fifty puppies a year to be federally licensed and regulated.
Fox Pens to Close in Florida
June 24, 2010The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission on Wednesday decided to close all fox pens in that state. Legal text for the ban is expected to be drafted in September, with the actual closures not occurring until next year. The Humane Society of the United States along with other animal rights organizations argued that […]