THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, April 25, 1996 TAG: 9604250011
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A16 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Letter
LENGTH: Short : 33 lines
On April 25, the Virginia Board of Game and Inland Fisheries votes on a proposal to sanction the operation of so-called foxhound training preserves. These ``preserves'' are fenced areas in which wild-caught red and gray foxes are released for foxhounds to chase and, if caught, tear apart.
Pen owners claim that foxes are rarely killed, yet the chasing of wildlife without possibility of escape from the pens, whether or not animals are regularly killed, is antithetical to the notion of fair chase to which most hunters and the public subscribe.
Prominent wildlife-disease experts have expressed strong concern over the potential for transmission of diseases such as rabies when foxes are transported to stock these pens. While the board is considering a geographic limit on fox trapping, this requirement would be virtually unenforceable. For the recreation of a few, the board might put the health of Virginia's residents, pets and wildlife at risk.
RACHEL QUERRY
Public relations coordinator
The Humane Society
of the United States
Washington, D.C., April 10, 1996 by CNB