Preserving Science-Based Wildlife Management in Arizona
Efforts are underway in Arizona to ban the use of dogs in hunting bears, lions, and other species, a move driven by petitions from anti-hunting groups like the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD). These proposals challenge Arizona’s proven, science-based wildlife management system, which balances conservation with regulated hunting.
The petition lacks data on local wildlife populations, relying instead on emotional claims and anecdotes. It is riddled with lies that are compelling to the uninformed. Its implications threaten all forms of hunting with dogs, including bird hunting (even though it supposedly has a carve-out for bird hunting), revealing an agenda to erode traditional conservation tools. We all know that supporting Arizona’s wildlife laws is vital for preserving balanced ecosystems and sustainable practices, but the CBD knows that there are many hunters that are apathetic to hound hunting in general. Listen, we have all been out there glassing a hillside and had a pack of hounds come blow out all the deer off a ridge ruining a morning hunt, and causing us to curse out the houndsman who led them there. It’s part of hunting in the southwest, especially in Coues country. But it’s this angst towards lion hunters that the CBD hopes to prey on within the sportsmen community.
I know those of you who have followed along with me especially in the last few years have heard me say this exhaustively “ We are all in this together”. We need to start looking at hunting holistically and not just from our own perspectives. I have been the first person to curse out a lion hunter for ruining my coues hunt, but I am also head of the line when it comes to helping them preserve what they do. I know ecologically the benefits of their efforts, I understand the need for what they do, the culture surrounding it and I can also see the big picture that removing hound hunting is just a step in the direction of removing hunting completely. The saying “give em an inch and they will take a foot” has never been more true. Having seen firsthand the desired end game for a very unified Anti-hunting establishment and that is the end of all hunting. They showed their hand just recently in Oregon shooting for the stars and going after all hunting and fishing with IP3.
AZ is vulnerable, and they know it. If you can say one thing positive about the anti-hunting establishment is they don’t do anything without being strategic or unified. They know: One we have a purple political climate here, Two we had the perfect opportunity to stop ballot box biology and we squandered it by not passing prop 134 in the 2024 cycle, and Three the aforementioned lack of unity from sportsmen especially in AZ. We need to stop this in its tracks immediately, we need to show them that AZ sportsmen can set our grievances aside and will stand next to each other in the face of anti-hunting. Moreover, we need to take this time to start educating ourselves and educating the non-hunting public on the importance and benefits of holistic management and how hunting is the keystone of conservation.
Where do we start? Well first and foremost on this matter we need to prove to AZGFD that we are unified and that we care about our fellow lion and bear hunters by showing up the commission meeting on Dec. 6th here are some talking points and more info here. Secondly, get involved and become a member of Howl for Wildlife. Lastly, recognize this is not a one and done thing and that we need a cultural change let’s start diving into the education so we can be better stewards of hunting and be better armed for the fight. Because it is a fight… I fight for what we all love…
