This commentary is by Jennifer Lovett of Starksboro, a conservation biologist, author of the book “Beavers Away!” and a board member of Protect Our Wildlife.
The Silvio O. Conte National Wildlife Refuge is seeking public comment on its recreational hunting and fishing plan. This plan — which, in Vermont, impacts the Nulhegan Basin Division in Bloomfield, Brunswick, Ferdinand and Lewis, and the Putney Mountain Unit in Putney — allows hunting with dogs (hounding) in the refuge.
Protect Our Wildlife, a Vermont-based wildlife advocacy group, has initiated a petition to ban hounding from the refuge. Links to the refuge’s draft of the 2021 hunting plan as well as Protect Our Wildlife petition appear at the end of these comments. Public commentary will be accepted on this plan until July 5.
Established in 1997, the Silvio O. Conte National Wildlife Refuge encompasses almost 40,000 acres of Connecticut River Watershed within New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts and Connecticut. The mission of this sanctuary is to conserve, protect and enhance the abundance and diversity of native plant, fish, wildlife species and the ecosystems within this critical river watershed. Many threatened and protected species depend upon these diverse habitats for their survival.
In light of the increasingly deleterious effects of climate change and habitat loss, the refuge assumes an important role in protecting necessary biodiversity and supporting wildlife and habitats of conservation concern to ensure their survival for future generations.
Controlled hunting and fishing have been allowed on refuge lands for over a decade, and, currently, hunting with dogs is permitted. This is very alarming and should concern all wildlife supporters. Hounding should not be allowed on any wildlife refuge/sanctuary where nontargeted animals and visitors are at risk for injury or death and fragile ecosystems are threatened.
Hunting wildlife with packs of hounds is an especially egregious activity that endangers a multitude of nontarget species, including ground nesting birds, fawns, moose calves, other young animals, domestic pets, livestock, human visitors, and even the hounds themselves.
Frenzied hunting dogs, wearing GPS collars, are released into the woods every year to pursue bears, bobcats, coyotes, raccoons and other wildlife species. These dogs are unsupervised and tracked on GPS systems by hunters who often sit in their parked trucks miles from the dogs and their terrified prey. Mother bears are often separated from their young dependent cubs, nests are trampled, sheltering fawns and any other wildlife in the path of these hounds can fall victim to mauling. Hounding is completely uncontrolled, violent, and deadly — even during training season.
The action starts June 1 when hound training season begins for most species. Coyotes may be hunted with hounds year-round. During the hot summer months, many animals are wounded, orphaned and traumatized as they or their parents are chased for miles in the dangerously hot summer heat. The hounds often pursue their prey until the terrified animals are exhausted and either collapse, climb a tree, or decide to stand and fight back.
This is especially devastating because the training season coincides with the months when wild animals are birthing, nursing and raising their dependent young. During this period of the summer, vulnerable offspring are orphaned or abandoned, left alone to starve or fall victim to predators. But for bobcats, fox, raccoon and coyotes, the nightmare continues relentlessly for months. At particular risk are protected species who resemble other targeted wildlife. For example, the refuge plan lists Canada lynx as a threatened and protected species, but hounds may easily mistake lynx for bobcat who are, sadly, a permissible target.
Training season is followed by hunting season when the hounders finally get to kill the terrified prey their hounds have treed or cornered. Hence, many animals are persecuted by hounds virtually year-round. Realistically, this activity — hunting animals with packs of trained dog — is akin to animal fighting, which is, ironically, illegal in Vermont. There is certainly no valid reason for hounding to be taking place in a wildlife refuge.
Hounding is not only dangerous for its intended victims, but it can also be dangerous for nontarget animals, pets, or anyone who gets in the path of the hounds. The hunters, often miles away with their tracking devices, have no control over their dogs, nor do they know where they are running or who they might encounter (perhaps a birdwatcher, hikers with small children, or someone walking their pet dog). On one such occasion, in October 2019, a retired couple and their leashed puppy were attacked by bear hounds on public land in Ripton. (Read about it here.)
If you oppose the plan to allow hunting with hounds on the Silvio O. Conte National Wildlife Refuge, please sign Protect Our Wildlife’s petition and let the refuge know your concerns. Due to its indiscriminate and violently disruptive nature, this activity is not compatible with the mission of the gefuge and endangers the many species the refuge is meant to protect.Â
In addition to signing the petition, please write to the refuge to say you oppose hounding.