Questionable?: Two part question on using dogs to recover game
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“Under what circumstances is a person allowed to use dogs to assist in recovering wounded game while still maintaining the prohibition of using dogs for hunting of certain species such as deer?”
– The Fishing Hole staff, Rhinelander
The Star Journal asked Jim Jung, a warden with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Jung responded:
“Two requirements are required to use a dog for the purpose of recovering a wounded deer. First, the dog must be on a leash, and the second requirement is that no firearms, archery equipment or other weapon capable of reducing an animal to one’s possession is possessed.
“By following these guidelines. a hunter would not be considered to be ‘hunting’ deer with the aid of a dog, and this is only considered to be a recovery effort.”
“Why can you run bear, bird hunt and rabbit hunt with dogs off leash; however, to locate a dead deer, the dog has to be on a leash?”
– The Fishing Hole staff, Rhinelander
The Star Journal asked Jim Jung, a warden with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Jung responded:
“The definition of hunting is to take, catch, kill or pursue, so by having a dog off the leash in the pursuit of a deer would mean that you are engaged in the act of hunting deer with the aid of a dog.
“The rabbit, grouse, waterfowl and bear seasons were established with language that allows a dog to be used as part of the hunt, unlike deer hunting, which specifically prohibits this type of activity. It was decided many years ago that this type of activity, (hunting deer with dogs) would be illegal in Wisconsin, and that language was put in state statute. So, to legally recover a wounded deer with the use of a dog requires that it is on a leash.”
Editor’s note: Send in your questions to [email protected], or mail them to the Star Journal, 24 W. Rives St., P.O.?Box 558 Rhinelander, WI?54501.
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