Why It Matters: Aside from the hunters themselves, sporting dogs are among the most important tools a hunter can utilize to ensure a successful hunt. Whether you own a labrador retriever to fetch ducks in the Mississippi bottomlands or a pack of small but fierce beagles to hunt rabbits in the dense cover of the Appalachians, maintaining the ability to utilize dogs is central to many of our time-honored traditions.
Highlights:
- Whether intentional or not, there are bills introduced every year in the Southeast that would negatively impact your ability to hunt with your favorite hunting companion. While this article focuses on the Southeast in particular, it’s important to note that these issues are nationwide, and the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) continues to stand at the forefront of protecting sporting dog owners.
- In 2022, a SB 2305 and HB 2034 was introduced in Tennessee that would have required unnecessary tethering requirements for responsible breeders, kennel owners, and hunters by requiring that no dog can be left tethered and unattended.
- In 2023, dogs actively engaged in lawful hunting in Tennessee were exempted from kennel restrictions.
- In 2023, an exemption for sporting dogs was included in a mandatory spay/neuter ordinance issued by a local county commission in Georgia for all dogs over six months of age. Additionally in 2023, CSF and our partners fought back FL HB 1581 that would have required owners of intact female dogs over six months of age to register as a commercial breeder.
While hunting dogs are viewed by hunters as essential tools of the trade, many anti-hunting organizations often target our ability to hunt with dogs as low hanging fruit. Unfortunately, the few irresponsible breeders and kennel owners that operate substandard kennels cast a bad light on the overwhelming majority of sporting dog owners that maintain top-notch care of their favorite hunting companions.
In recent years, several attempts have been made in Southeastern states to erode hunters’ abilities to train and utilize dogs in the field as well as have a small kennel operation. After opposition from the outdoor sporting community, TN SB 2305 and HB 2034 would have implemented tethering requirements and negatively impacted the ability of individuals to train their hunting dogs failed to advance. In the following year, Tennessee hunters faced another bill that placed kennel restrictions on all dogs in a person’s custody that primarily live outside. The bill ultimately passed, but not after an exemption was added for dogs actively engaged in lawful hunting, among other purposes and functions. Finally, an exemption was added to a local county commission ordinance in Georgia in 2023 that exempts hunting dogs from a mandatory spay/neuter ordinance for all dogs over the age of six months, and a Florida bill. Thanks to close coordination between the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation, the Tennessee and Georgia Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucuses, and partners at the American Kennel Club (AKC), hunters and their beloved four-legged hunting companions are well represented when it comes to protecting one of our oldest traditions.
However, dog bills do not always warrant bad news for hunters. For example, HB 802, supported by CSF and the Louisiana Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus, was passed in Louisiana and allows hunters to use dogs to track and dispatch mortally wounded deer with the use of lights after legal shooting hours on private land.
CSF looks forward to working with state legislative sportsmen’s caucuses and our partners to protect hunters’ abilities to go afield with their four-legged companions, one of our most storied hunting traditions.
