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Re: Letter to the editor, Inhumane, heartless penned dog hunting must to stopped, July 9; Letter to the editor, Province sanctions animal torture with penned dog hunting, July 6, 2023.
I would l like to put forward for consideration an alternative point of view on the aspects of "penned" hunting and dog training. As a hunter with over 25 years of experience, including the training and use of hunting dogs, I would hope that my chosen lifestyle and position in our community would put to rest the claim that anyone who does support the act of hunting with dogs or the training of those dogs is not of rational mind.
While I agree we each have our own opinions, it does not come down to who is perceived to be rational or not, to support either side of the argument, for or against hunting and training dogs. The unfounded claims of causing personal harm due to stress is stretching to the limit the foundations of trying to have a discussion based on logic and facts rather than wild emotional claims.
One of the first concessions that any hunter would make when trying to explain the aspects of hunting is that not everyone has the stomach or fortitude to harvest and process their own food. Hunters are OK with that. We just ask for some consideration that some of us do, and we prefer to know exactly where and how our food is processed before we consume it.
We take pride in using as much of the animal as we can — as is required by law, for any non-hunters who are not aware of this. We spend thousands of hours and dollars each year to prepare for a hunt, including the training of ourselves and our animals to ensure a successful harvest as possible.
We do not want an animal to suffer needlessly and one important aspect of that is dog training. Whether that be in the wild, with limited times and locations, or in a controlled environment where animals are provided as part of the training, the fact remains that a well-trained hunter and dog will be more successful on a live hunt and it is important to harvest an animal as quickly and ethically as possible.
The banning of locations for dog training will not prevent hunters from going and hunting for these animals in the wild. It will, however, provide for more training so as to produce a better outcome for hunter, dog and harvested animal.
Darryl Burke
Newmarket
