LeeInSC
04-23-2009, 12:00 PM
Plan to fence bears for dog training hits snag
Dogs could chase fenced-in bruins under plan
The State
Wednesday, Apr. 22, 2009
http://www.thestate.com/breaking/story/758449.html
By SAMMY FRETWELL - sfretwell@thestate.com
A walk through the Upstate’s Appalachian forest might lead you to a black bear staked inside a cage — and fighting as hard as it can to escape the advances of growling dogs.
The competition between captive bears and dogs is a popular tradition — particularly among mountain men — in South Carolina.
The practice has been fading in recent years amid questions about cruelty and fair chase, but a new twist on the tradition is causing a stir these days in the Palmetto State.
Instead of confining bears inside a cage for dogs to bark at, some Upstate hunters want to put up fences around hundreds of acres so dogs can chase bears through the woods. The idea is to train dogs for the week in October when bear hunting with dogs is legal in South Carolina.
The practice already is allowed for foxes and coyotes in South Carolina. One hunter with a fox pen in the mountains has said he can’t keep bears out of the pen.
But animal welfare groups say chasing a caged bear is inhumane. They say bears are terrorized by barking dogs and, even though the dogs are not supposed to attack the bears, they likely will, according to the Humane Society of the United States.
“This amounts to nothing more than caged animal fighting,” said Andrew Page, national director of the wildlife abuse campaign for the Humane Society. “We have seen this happen with other species, including coyotes and foxes. ... The national trend is away from this.”
Even if the bears aren’t being chased by dogs, caging them is cruel, say some animal welfare groups. Bears need thousands more acres to forage and to look for mates than they can find inside a fence, critics say.
“A big mammal like a black bear doesn’t belong in a fenced area,” said Breck Carmichael, a deputy director at the S.C. Department of Natural Resources.
Black bears are native to South Carolina. After colonial times, their numbers dwindled, but wildlife officials say their numbers appear to be on the rise again here and in other parts of the Southeast. Most of the bears live in the mountains or along the northern coast. But DNR has had reports of sightings in other areas in recent years.
The issue of holding bears in captivity spilled into the halls of the State House on Tuesday, where a House subcommittee heard arguments for letting hunters keep the animals behind fences on 200 acres or more. The committee chose not to vote after hearing complaints from DNR.
“We’re trying to promote and sustain angling and hunting,” the DNR’s Derrell Shipes before the meeting. “Every time one of these issues comes up, it just casts a bad light on our constituents.”
Cary Chamblee, a lobbyist for the S.C. Wildlife Federation, said the bill also could have opened the door for “canned hunts,” or actually shooting bears inside fences.
Still, some expect the issue to resurface in the Legislature.
Dogs could chase fenced-in bruins under plan
The State
Wednesday, Apr. 22, 2009
http://www.thestate.com/breaking/story/758449.html
By SAMMY FRETWELL - sfretwell@thestate.com
A walk through the Upstate’s Appalachian forest might lead you to a black bear staked inside a cage — and fighting as hard as it can to escape the advances of growling dogs.
The competition between captive bears and dogs is a popular tradition — particularly among mountain men — in South Carolina.
The practice has been fading in recent years amid questions about cruelty and fair chase, but a new twist on the tradition is causing a stir these days in the Palmetto State.
Instead of confining bears inside a cage for dogs to bark at, some Upstate hunters want to put up fences around hundreds of acres so dogs can chase bears through the woods. The idea is to train dogs for the week in October when bear hunting with dogs is legal in South Carolina.
The practice already is allowed for foxes and coyotes in South Carolina. One hunter with a fox pen in the mountains has said he can’t keep bears out of the pen.
But animal welfare groups say chasing a caged bear is inhumane. They say bears are terrorized by barking dogs and, even though the dogs are not supposed to attack the bears, they likely will, according to the Humane Society of the United States.
“This amounts to nothing more than caged animal fighting,” said Andrew Page, national director of the wildlife abuse campaign for the Humane Society. “We have seen this happen with other species, including coyotes and foxes. ... The national trend is away from this.”
Even if the bears aren’t being chased by dogs, caging them is cruel, say some animal welfare groups. Bears need thousands more acres to forage and to look for mates than they can find inside a fence, critics say.
“A big mammal like a black bear doesn’t belong in a fenced area,” said Breck Carmichael, a deputy director at the S.C. Department of Natural Resources.
Black bears are native to South Carolina. After colonial times, their numbers dwindled, but wildlife officials say their numbers appear to be on the rise again here and in other parts of the Southeast. Most of the bears live in the mountains or along the northern coast. But DNR has had reports of sightings in other areas in recent years.
The issue of holding bears in captivity spilled into the halls of the State House on Tuesday, where a House subcommittee heard arguments for letting hunters keep the animals behind fences on 200 acres or more. The committee chose not to vote after hearing complaints from DNR.
“We’re trying to promote and sustain angling and hunting,” the DNR’s Derrell Shipes before the meeting. “Every time one of these issues comes up, it just casts a bad light on our constituents.”
Cary Chamblee, a lobbyist for the S.C. Wildlife Federation, said the bill also could have opened the door for “canned hunts,” or actually shooting bears inside fences.
Still, some expect the issue to resurface in the Legislature.