WI Public Votes 'No' On Uninvited Dog Retrieval By Hounders

Citizens attending last week's annual statewide Wisconsin Conservation Congress meetings to advise the DNR on hunting, fishing and outdoors' rule and policy changes sent a strong "No" message on whether hounders should be allowed on private propertywithout landowners' permission to retrieve dogs.

The vote was No, 3038, Yes, 2589.

Hounders running dogs during hunting seasons and training periods is a matter of controversy in Wisconsin.

It is a measure of the political power of the bear hunting lobby that Wisconsin is the only state that pays hunters - - even scofflaws - - whose dogs are killed by wolves during training, or the bear hunting season.

Here is a list of the votes on all proposals. The swan proposal is item 36, the hounder proposal is number 48.

I'd reported earlier on the rejection at these meetings of another controversial item, a proposed Tundra swan hunt in Wisconsin.

And I'd written about both items in February as the meetings were getting their initial publicity.