SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA PUBLIC RADIO - KPCC: Should California hunters be banned from using dogs to hunt bears & bobcats?

April 12, 2012
In February, California Fish and Game President Daniel W. Richards refused to resign despite state state legislators’ calls for him to do so after photographs surfaced showing Richards holding a dead mountain lion he had hunted using hounds in Idaho, where hunting mountain lions is legal. State Senators Ted Lieu and Darrell Steinberg have proposed legislation, Senate Bill 1221, which would amend existing law to prohibit the use of dogs in hunting bobcats and bears in California.

The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) supports the anti-hound-hunting bill and said the controversy surrounding Richards has brought needed attention to the contentious practice of using dogs for hunting predatory animals. The proposal has inflamed hunting groups, including the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance, which has vowed to shoot down the bill.

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Is it humane to use dogs to hunt down bears and bobcats? Seventeen states do allow the use of hounds for hunting bear, why shouldn’t California allow this activity?

Guests:

Wayne Pacelle, president, CEO, The Humane Society of the United States; author, "The Bond: Our kinship with animals, our call to defend them"

*Wayne will be signing copies of his book The Bond: Our Kinship with Animals, our call to defend them tonight at 7:30 pm at the Barnes and Noble in Burbank

Rob Sexton, senior vice president, U.S. Sportsmen's Alliance, a national advocacy organization that protects the rights of American hunters

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