CHARLESTON, W.Va. — West Virginia State Delegate Brandon Steele (R-Raleigh) introduced a bill to the House Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources on Jan. 13, that would allow hunters to use dogs in tracking wounded game.
House Bill 4116 would change the current law that prohibits hunters using dogs to hunt or chase deer. The law can be found in Chapter 20, Article 2 of the West Virginia Code, titled “Wildlife Resources.”
The law also maintains that it is “unlawful for any person to cause through carelessness, neglect or otherwise to let any edible portion of any big game or game fish to go to waste needlessly,” also known as wanton waste.
The new law would allow hunters to only track wounded deer or bear with a leashed dog. Those in support of the bill believe if it were to pass, less game meat would go to waste.
The new language does not change the current law prohibiting hunters to use dogs to hunt or chase deer. It would, however, change a major consequence should a dog be caught by a game warden. The new bill says that the Division of Natural Resources Director and police officers have to deliver dogs suspected of chasing non-wounded deer to the appropriate humane officer or facility, while the current law allows the director to kill captive dogs within a 10-day time frame should the owner not claim the dog and pay a fee. It also allows natural resource officers to kill a suspected dog(s) if they are unsuccessful in capturing said dog(s).
Rep. Jeffrey Pack (R-Raleigh) is the bill’s co-sponsor.
