COL. CHRIS PATTON
The Virginia General Assembly is considering a bill, HB1396, which would require hound hunters to purchase a permit and get written permission from the landowner to hunt on private property.
We all see hounds in the Fall…it’s just part of the landscape here in Nottoway, and I can accept that. I have hunters and their dogs on my farm regularly. Some have my permission to be there, but most do not.
The hunters I allow on my land are the ones whom I invite or those who at least ask me first. They don’t make assumptions about their continued access, and they often offer something in return — like lending a hand or some of the harvest.
Hunters who hunt my property without my permission come with a senseFromof entitlementPage 4 that I simply don’t understand.
HB1396 would require hound hunters to get permission to hunt private property, and that just makes sense. As for the permit, I have to buy a permit to hunt with a bow or a muzzleloader. It’s reasonable that a hound hunter should have to buy a permit as well.
Hound hunting is tradition in our Commonwealth, but it has gotten outof control. The road hunting and disregard for private property is just too much.
If we don’t regulate and hold the bad apples accountable, we will eventually lose hound hunting altogether. It’s a pretty simple ask of hound hunters to only hunt where they have permission.
I get that dogs can’t read ‘No Trespassing’ signs, but good houndsmen train their dogs to the tone and use GPS to track their locations so they can stop their dogs before they get onto land where they’re not supposed to be.
“The dogs can’t read” excuse just doesn’t hold water anymore with the available technology. Hound hunting deer has been outlawed in 42 other states, with Texas and Tennessee being the most recent, and it could happen here, too, if we don’t clean it up.
ABOUT THE WRITER
Colonel Patton retired from the Marine Corps after more than 28 years of service and now owns and operates Oak Grove Farm in Nottoway County.
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