Nevada Commission to Vote on Petition to End Hound Hunting
March 10, 2021
A citizen has petitioned the Nevada Wildlife Commission to end the use of hounds for bear hunting. The petition will be voted on at the March 19-20 commission meeting in Reno, Nevada.
Nevada citizens should contact Nevada Wildlife Commissioners and urge them to deny the citizen petition with a ‘no’ vote. The commissioners can be contacted at the below emails:
- Chair Tiffany East (tiffany@tiffanyeastpr.com)
- Vice Chair Tom Barnes (barestk5@outlook.com)
- Tommy Caviglia (tccaviglia1980@gmail.com)
- Jon Almberg (almbergnv@gmail.com)
- Shane Rogers (shanerogers9@yahoo.com)
- Kerstan Hubbs (khubbs@essentiallegalservices.com)
- Casey D. Kiel (ckiel@coeur.com)
- David McNinch (davidmcninch@att.net)
- Ron Pierini (pieriniron@gmail.com)
The use of hounds for big game, such as black bears and mountain lions, allows sportsmen to better evaluate animals to ensure scientific management goals are more accurately attained. Hunters have the time and ability to determine the size, approximate age, and sex of the animal, as well as ensure females don’t have cubs nearby or in a den. The use of hounds allows a level of selective harvest not available to spot-and-stalk hunters, which gives state biologists better data to accurately set season dates and quotas. Additionally, after an evaluation, houndsmen can easily pull dogs from the chase, releasing the bear.
Black bears are common in the western mountain ranges of Nevada, which are hunted under highly regulated harvest quotas. In neighboring California, black bear hunting with hounds was prohibited in 2013, and, as a result, populations have grown exponentially, leading to increased human-wildlife conflict and repeated failures to achieve harvest quotas, which only compounds bear-related issues.
“The proponents of this ban argue that bear hunting with hounds is an inhumane and cruel practice, but that could not be any farther from the truth,” said Jacob Hupp, associate director of state services at the Sportsmen’s Alliance. “Biologists use hounds in exactly the same manner to conduct studies, which allows for the most selective harvest of an animal and is an effective and incredibly important wildlife management tool that must be maintained by the commission for sound wildlife management in the state.”
The Sportsmen’s Alliance protects and defends America’s wildlife conservation programs and the pursuits – hunting, fishing, and trapping – that generate the money to pay for them. Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation is responsible for public education, legal defense, and research. Its mission is accomplished through several distinct programs coordinated to provide the most complete defense capability possible.