Windham County Humane Society Newsletter – Alert

Pawprints, May, 2021

Do you want bear hounding on Putney Mountain?

The US Fish & Wildlife Service is proposing that hunting bears with hounds be made legal on the Putney Mountain Unit of the Silvio O. Conte National Wildlife Refuge.

The deadline for public comment is July 5th

Please email HuntFishRuleComments@fws.gov with “Silvio O. Conte NFWR Hunt/Fish Plan” in the subject line and let them know how you feel about allowing hounding on the Refuge. Your email can be short—the most important thing is that they hear from local residents.

What is Hounding?

Hunters unleash packs of powerful, radio-collared hounds on bobcat, bear, coyote and other wildlife. This occurs during the hunting seasons and throughout the year during hound “training” season, which lasts all year for some species. The hounds chase the animals for miles until the exhausted wild animal either collapses, climbs a tree, where they’re often shot, or stands its ground and fights back. This places both wildlife and the hounds in danger since the hunters are often miles away, sitting in their trucks following their dogs on phones or laptops. These vehicles often have out-of-state license plates as hounding has been outlawed in many neighboring states. Hounds do not recognize property lines and it is common for them to run through private property and protected land. Hounds pursue non-targeted animals, including fawns, moose calves and lynx, who are on the threatened species list and have been found on the Refuge. A Refuge manager shared her concerns with Vermont Fish & Wildlife (VFWD) in 2015, but VFWD took no action. Hounds have also been known to attack domestic dogs and cats.

Hounds corner a bobcat