bear hunting with hounds

[Redlantern]

I was wondering what some of your views are on hunting bear with hounds. I'm still undecided on how I feel. I have sled dogs and appreciate the satisfaction of working with dogs. On the other hand, I bear hunt on my own land in Hovland and would be a little more than p***ed off if I was to have a pack of dogs come into my bait stand and scare off a bear. Since I don't know much about hunting with dogs I don't know if this really happens. I understand the DNR is considering allowing this type of hunting to help reduce bear numbers. Would they have a special season so as not to conflict with the bait hunters? Would it be in a special zone? I wonder if they might not lose more bear hunters because of conflict with houndhunters? Just some thoughts I've been pondering. Looking forward to some replies. Thanks.

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Erik

[kelly-p]

I feel that there should be a place for everyone but I would have to say that I oppose hunting bear with hounds. It bothers me that they plan on allowing it where there is a "predominant amount of public land" to avoid trespassing problems. In other words northern MN will have it all. With the DNR closing so many of the small access roads to motor vehicles there are only narrow corridors that a person can get to so many of those areas are already getting very crowded and now we will be adding hunters with hounds.
The DNR says that this is increase the amount of bears taken????? I feel that this will cut down the number of bears taken each year. It can take a long time to get a bear comfortable coming in to a bait but now a pack of hounds can run the bear off and weeks of work will have been wasted.
What will happen when the hounds meet up with a pack of Timber Wolves? Are the people with hounds in for a suprise!
What will happen when the bear leads the hounds across a long swamp? There are areas around URL where the next road is 40 miles away. How will they retrieve a bear taken a mile or more away from any place they can drive a motor vehicle? I wouldn't want to be the person trying to get a bear through a mile or so of tag alder/tamarack swamp on foot.
Mainly I do not look forward to a pack of hounds coming past a bait or a deer bow hunting stand.

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Waskish Minnow Station
218-647-8652

[lakevet]

I lived and worked in Wisconsin for a couple years. Trespassing and other problems did occur as did dogs getting chewed up. Some people didn't like to hear a pack of hounds sounding off as they passed through there yard at all hours of the day or night. It is like any other outdoor activity, it depends on the ethics of the man or woman doing it. I have had bird dogs or the neighbors pet run by my bow stand. You can use hounds to hunt raccoon in Minnesota and you don't hear much about that. Houndmen don't want their dog running deer and a good hound will ignore deer. However, the dogs are going to follow the bear and no-one has any control over that except the bear. Also they may want a spring training season where they run bear but don't harvest any. The majority of hunters I saw were from out of state.How serious is the effort to get this going in Minnesota? Is the desire to harvest more bear or to open an opportunity And why not go back to the combined deer bear license like they used to have. That would help increase the harvest, especially in the non permit area of the state.

lakevet

[bass-o-matic]

What I read was the proposed hound season would be after the baiting season, which would eliminate any conflict between the two. Now, if they adhere to that plan, I wouldn't have a problem with it. I have friends that hunt WI where they stagger the opening; bait hunters get the first week one year before hounds are allowed, and hound hunters get the first week the next year, before bait hunting is allowed. After that first week, both are in the woods at the same time, meaning you basically have just the first week of uninterrupted hunting every other year. If they draw a permit for a "hound year", most people I know decline and take the prefernce points for the next "bait" year. Can be a real mess. If MN does move ahead with the hounds, hopefully they'll keep separate seasons.