[ConservativeDude]

"Banning the use of dogs in the hunting of bears in Oregon was a bad thing for the bears...they would get chased and treed and given the once-over before a decision to shoot or not was made...now they're shot on sight ...with twice as many tags available to hunters."

Fascinating. I was reading recently about how people like T Roosevelt wanted to ban the use of dogs in hunting deer, b/c the dogs drove the deer into water, which basically incapacitated the deer, making it too easy...thus violating "fair chase".

The point you are making in the bear context is one that actually is more in the spirit of "fair chase" and not harming cubs.

Is it correct to say, then, that the use of dogs in terms of hunting ethics must be decided on a case by case basis?

I am not yet a big hunter, but it is not out of sympathy, it's really just a time issue. I am fascinated by it and believe passionately in conservation and hunting as a wildlife management tool. Therefore I ask a lot of questions.

[gundog]

Fascinating. I was reading recently about how people like T Roosevelt wanted to ban the use of dogs in hunting deer, b/c the dogs drove the deer into water, which basically incapacitated the deer, making it too easy...thus violating "fair chase".

If I tried that in local terrain, I'd not see deer or dog until dog got tired and hungry and came home.

The point you are making in the bear context is one that actually is more in the spirit of "fair chase" and not harming cubs.

Trophy bear hunters like to give bears a good look, be it in a tree or over a baiting station(also now illegal in Oregon).

Is it correct to say, then, that the use of dogs in terms of hunting ethics must be decided on a case by case basis?

I know people that loved to chase bears with dogs...rarely shot anything...just loved running the hounds. All a matter of perspective...if you're anti-hunting, hunting anything by any method is bad, period. Some hunters will bad-mouth the use of dogs, some bad-mouth those that shoot does. Little divisions in the hunting world that are easily exploited by anti's. If the anti's knew the truth about losses due to wounding and poor trailing skills, they'd probably require the use of dogs...though I'm certain that they'd prefer to simply ban hunting.

I am not yet a big hunter, but it is not out of sympathy, it's really just a time issue. I am fascinated by it and believe passionately in conservation and hunting as a wildlife management tool. Therefore I ask a lot of questions.

Just don't let the anti's know that you're having fun...that's what really pisses 'em off.