BKB

Unfortunately, the dog hunters that are causing trouble all over Richmond County seem to outweigh the ones that are acting accordingly and obeying the laws. County commissioners have been hearing these complaints for some time. As for pressing charges against those trespassing, well, they have to be caught in the act and they all say "we're looking for our dogs". The law protects them in the fact they can, but not always ask permission, pick up their dog if it is on another person's property. It is an exasperating situation. Or, my favorite line from dog hunters, "the dog can't read the No Trespassing signs". I'm afraid that North Carolina will soon be looking to adopt "The Georgia Rule". It has solved most of Georgia's problems. It's very strict and statewide.

Again I must side with Mr. Sides. The dog runners are a breed unto themselves. Their pickup trucks are a dead giveaway as to the type hunting they do. Dog cages in their beds and mud slung from one end to the other. The mud usually stays on year round as some sort of status symbol. With 6 inch lift kits, mudder tires, and all else needed for off road "chase hunting," these characters couldn't care less where they drive or whose land it's on. They care nothing for the fact that they are ruining the sport for the still hunters who sit for hours on a stand only to have a herd of deer dogs come running through, spooking every deer around a perimeter of at least a two miles. So nothing for the still hunter to do but pack it up and go home.

Take some advice "Roadrunners." If you don't like the area which Richmond County has set aside for you to dog hunt on, then go to another county, just as those from other counties come to this one to show their expertise in tresspassing and running "ramshod" over private land.

I understand and respect your position. I'd like to offer a counter position. We are an established hunt club that is primarily a dog hunting club but we also still hunt as well as small game hunt and turkey hunt. We have members that dog hunt only and we have members that still hunt only and we have members such as myself that do both. Our club has been in place for nearly 60 years. I've hunter here for 31 years. We don't hunt anywhere close to Hough Rd. Out of 6 available days to hunt each week, we hunt with dogs 1 day except the week after Christmas. We have never been accused of trespassing or destroying property. We prepare to hunt year round as well. We plant food plots, maintain stands, keep our property posted, clean out lines, pay good money for leases, maintain the land, etc. I think we hunt extremely ethically and safely. We don't leave trash behind, we don't drink and again we don't trespass. We hunt with shotguns and we don't shoot into other people's land. There are several clubs around us that are the same. If there is a bad club or clubs ,since trespassing laws exist, why don't we have law enforment police this and stop it. Have there been any arrests for trespassing or destruction of property by dog hunters? If it's in an area where dog hunting is illegal, then arrests should have been made and should be made in the future. We have a swimming pool in our community. From time to time, people trespass, sometimes in the day, sometimes at night. We've had to call law enforcement to stop the trespassing. It gets stopped. Should I push for a law to stop swimming at other pools in our county? We have a vacant road in my neighborhood where houses are yet to be built. Sometimes trespassers park at the end and do whatever. We call the sheriff and it gets stopped. Should we push fo a law to stop driving on the road in our neighborhood by all cars? We have had problems with still hunters trespassing during our dog drives not to mention during the week still hunting. Believe it or not we have had still hunters get in the middle of our hunt and sometimes kill a deer in front of the dogs. Should I push for a law stopping still hunting? No way. That's ridiculous. So everyone has their point of view on this and their hunting style or preference. The overiding issue is that the commissioners acted extremely unilaterally in what amounts to a "secret" meeting on 5/10 to get the resolution passed. There had to be behind the scenes deal-making. Nothing else can explain it. That is not fair. Both sides of the issue have the right to discuss in a civil, meaningful and constructive manner with the commissioners in tow. This was handled by the commissioners in an extremely unethical and unprofessional manner. If you are against dog hunting, then the method may not matter to you as the results are what matters but who's to say on a different issue they can act in a similar matter and it may not be in your favor this time. That's the most important issue here. Not whether one's opinion is correct or not or whether dog hunting is bad or not. It's how such a controversial/polarizing issue was handled. Are they realing looking out for the citizen's best interest??