The following article is being presented for the reading pleasure of the members of the
Big Woods Hare Hunters of the Allegheny
Just Me: My Opinion
Written and Photographed
by
Joe Ewing
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| Moe, trophy snowshoe hare, Thompson Contender .410, Maine Guide Snowshoes and me in Maine 2005. |
I live in my own little
world. During the last year and a half, I’ve run my hounds and stayed away from
humans. The pandemic had me concerned but never panicked. I obeyed gracefully
like the retired-peasant I am. I ran my dogs in the fresh clean air of the
Allegheny Plateau, trained a couple of puppies and kept my hounds in shape.
While I was minding my own business the animal-rights crowd continued their attacks on hunting and the use of dogs for hunting. When they couldn’t attack hunting directly, they proposed and passed legislation which would ban breeding, training and selling of hunting dogs. The animal-rights crowd disguise their attacks by proposing legislation under the camouflage of “animal welfare”.
A few years ago, I sold a puppy to a local guy. While the local guy was looking the puppies over, he mumbled something like, “not chain trained, huh?” I was shocked, stood dumbfounded and silent. I sold him the puppy at the ridiculously low price of $100 and we closed the deal with a handshake agreement to refund his money within one year if he wasn’t happy. I was profoundly naïve back then. I drove by his house on every trip to the Allegheny National Forest and right there on his front yard were two dog boxes with chained-up dogs. The doghouse doors were pointed east, which was a good thing, and the dog houses were shaded by spruce or pine trees. After a while I purposely quit looking in that direction.
You may have guessed it already. Exactly one year to the date the local guy knocked at my door claiming “Moe” would not run rabbits. I had the $100 in my pocket and as agreed handed it over to him and took possession of Moe with another handshake. You probably have also guessed Moe was running rabbits exactly 6 days later and running with the pack. I look at returned dogs as a good omen as most have worked into my pack quite well.
I didn’t then and still don’t believe in chaining up dogs. It never crossed my mind to confront and condemn this guy. He owned the dog; the dog was on his property and he had dominion over the animal. There are people who believe they know better than dog owners and owners of hunting dogs especially. A neighbor asked me in church how many dogs a man can own without obtaining a kennel license? I knew his question was targeted directly in my direction. “In Pennsylvania a person can harbor up to 26 dogs a year without a kennel permit,” I paraphrased the law.
“You’re wrong,” was his immediate counter. He didn’t know how many I owned but he was convinced he knew all the answers. He probably never owned a hunting dog or researched the dog laws. He was just another know-it-all. Another example of an outhouse lawyer.
In a recent article in SPORTSMEN’S MONTHLY, the official journal of Sportsmen’s Alliance, in an article titled, “DESTROYING THE PACK” by writer Brian Lynn, I found statements which have me troubled, “Through explicit prohibition or ambiguous language, animal-rights activists push legislation that ends the use of dogs outright or makes it economically impossible.” Lynn relates how the animal rights movement doesn’t always need to attack hunting directly to end it and undermine wildlife management. Legislation related to sporting dogs can undermine hunting with dogs by picking at kenneling, breeding, training and selling practices. Lynn states, “the vast amount of legislation related to dogs happens quietly in conservative and liberal states under the guise of animal welfare.”
The animal-rights crowd disguise their attacks by proposing legislation under the camouflage of “animal welfare”.
It
troubles me that in many states, like my own Pennsylvania along with New
Hampshire, Florida and Wisconsin have passed laws trying to restrict or even
abolish outside dogs by setting up time limits or hours dogs can be outside and
with temperature limits based on random choice or a person’s whim, rather than
any logical reasonable system. The Pennsylvania law restricts chaining a
dog to only 30-minutes if the temperature is below 32-degrees or above
90-degrees. The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) claims and preaches
that this law they hammered through in Pennsylvania during the Covid
crisis is not intended to do away with outside dogs. As a matter of course they
are insincere. In other words, they lie.
Many dog owners have no other choice but to chain. Sled dog owners and sled competitors cannot house their numerous dogs indoors. Many breeds are just getting comfortable at 32 degrees. I’ve seen huskies and Alaskan malamutes
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We all know, or should know, and it troubles me that the overall goal of the HSUS is to end the use of sporting dogs in the field. Evan Heusinkveld, President and CEO of Sportsmen’s Alliance says, “They want to end the use of animals in any form, not just the use of those we eat or wear for clothes. If they can’t do it outright, such as hound hunting bans, they resort to ambiguously worded legislation with arbitrary thresholds to define the undefinable.”
Their aim is to
make criminals out of law-abiding dog owners.
When it comes to animal welfare not random or unsound and even silly temperatures and times or how many animals one owns, but how the animal is cared for should be the standard.
Our hounds work outside in rough conditions so the need to adapt to these same conditions is important. Asking a dog accustomed to human-comforts to jump into a foot or more of snow at temperatures of -25-degrees is highly unfair. A well-cared for dog with access to food, water, shade and shelter can thrive outside and be ready to perform in all conditions. Many house dog owners do not believe this concept; I want my beagles to have the heaviest coat they can muster.
I’m proud to be a responsible backyard breeder. I own 5 breeding females. How long will it be before some haphazard law makes me a professional breeder or worse yet runs me out of my hobby? This random law could end my long pastime of breeding, training and hunting beagles along with many other amateur breeders of all breeds. How long before chain laws prohibit staked out dogs at dog trials? How long before some vague and unclear law asserts a temperature which is too hot or too cold to carry on a field trial or even take the dog hunting?
If we continue to think these laws are made for the animal’s welfare and designed to outlaw the so-called puppy mills, then maybe we’re as naïve as I was years ago.
The Big Woods Hare Hunters of the Allegheny recently joined the New York Houndsmen Benevolent Association in our neighboring state. We believe this organization is on the front lines of our cause. We shall support the New York Houndsmen with our dollars and our prayers. We have no other choice. The Big Woods Hare Hunters of the Allegheny likes hunting in New York and we appreciate the New York Houndsmen for their endless work and courage in the face of unyielding pressure from the left.
Each of us should be vigilant. No matter how simple or how animal welfare related a proposed bill may seem, it probably is a direct attack on you, your sport and your hounds. Beagling and dog ownership is the embodiment of freedom and we should never be infringed upon in anyway. The Big Woods Hare Hunters of the Allegheny will continue to speak out where we see injustice.
