The California Senate approved today legislation that would ban the use of hounds or other dogs to hunt bears and bobcats.
Senate Bill 1221, by Democratic Sen. Ted Lieu, would make California the 15th state to ban the practice, which critics contend is cruel both for the targeted animals and the dogs involved, which can get injured or killed.
Lieu said dispatching dogs to chase a bear into a tree where the hunter can get a clear shot of the animal “violates the principals of fair chase.” “It’s been likened to shooting a bear in the zoo,” Lieu said.
About 45 percent of the bears and 11 percent of the bobcats killed in California last year were hunted using dogs, according to a Senate analysis of the bill. Read more….