Southern states banning hog dog rodeos

Another article trashing on a darn good sport. They pretty much killed off the catch pens but they want to put the final nails in the coffin I guess.
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Southern legislatures banning ‘hog-dog rodeos'

Cox News Service

Thursday, June 15, 2006

WASHINGTON - Georgia may soon be the only state in the Deep South that has not banned ‘‘hog-dog rodeos'' pitting attack dogs against wild pigs in a pen.

This week, South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford signed a bill into law that includes hog-dog rodeos in a broader action against animal blood sports like cockfighting and raises penalties against such activities. The North Carolina House passed a hog-dog ban 114-0 on Thursday and it is expected to sail through the Senate.

<!--endtext--><!--begintext-->A bill banning dog fighting - in which a provision outlawing hog-dog rodeos was eventually eliminated - failed to get through the Georgia General Assembly in April.

Hog-dog rodeos are mainly held in the rural South. State governments in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama have all enacted laws banning the fights and the attorney generals of Texas and Florida have issued legal opinions stating that the activity is prohibited under their state laws. In the border state of Tennessee, the legislature failed to act on a ban in its 2006 session.

‘‘Most Southern legislatures have spoken clearly to this issue - setting pit bulls upon wild hogs confined to a pen will not be tolerated,'' said John Goodwin, deputy manager for animal fighting issues for the Humane Society of the United States.

‘‘In the Deep South, Georgia has been the lone hold-out in taking a clear stance against these brutal spectacles,'' he said.

Defenders of hog-dog rodeos say their sport has been wrongly characterized.

‘‘What I do is by no means cruel to either animal,'' said Mary Luther, president of the International Catchdog Association, based in Fort Lawn, S.C. ‘‘I have never seen a dog kill a hog. That's ridiculous.''

She said hog-dog rodeos are not as cruel as fox hunts, where packs of hounds chase down foxes and kill them, or raccoon hunts, where baying dogs pursue the animals through the night to trees and kill them if they can. She said the new laws are ‘‘the beginning of the end'' of all hunting with dogs, which includes hunting deer and quail.

The rodeo rules call for the wild or feral hog to be prodded from a chute into a pen and then the dog - usually a pit bull - to be released to chase it down. Bolt cutters are used to remove tusks from wild boars to protect the attack dogs from injury.

With a stopwatch running, the dog must corner the pig, catch it ‘‘from the front shoulders forward'' which usually means an ear or snout, then wrestle it to the ground. The fastest time wins. Usually a ‘‘release stick'' is needed to pry the dog's teeth from the flesh of the squealing pig.

‘‘I have seen these hogs after they've been put through the grinder,'' said Goodwin. ‘‘At a South Carolina property where hog- dog fights were held, I saw hogs who had their ears torn from the side of their heads. I saw one hog who had been bitten so viciously on the side of his face that, when he ate, pieces of corn fell through the wound.''

Goodwin said the activity ‘‘first appeared on our radar screen in the early 90s'' but then ‘‘took off'' in popularity in 2004.

There are thousands of people breeding and training attack dogs for dog-hog rodeos, said Goodwin. But that number is much smaller than the tens of thousands whose animals participate in dog against dog fighting or even the 20,000 or more who engage in cockfighting, he added. The crowds attending the hog-dog rodeos in remote rural pens usually number in the hundreds, he said.

At the International Catchdog Association's 2004 ‘‘Super Comp'' in Richburg, S.C., the entry fee was $400 per dog and the advertised prizes included a ‘‘2004 Custom-built Chopper'' motorcycle for first place, $5,000 for second, $2,000 for third, down to $500 for sixth through tenth.

‘‘This is a relatively new form of animal fighting, largely confined to the South,'' he said. ‘‘The reaction by elected officials and law enforcement may send hog-dog fighting to an early grave.''

But Luther said ‘‘animal fighting'' is not what happens at hog-dog rodeos. Defenders liken what the dogs do to hogs more to what cowboys do in steer wrestling at a rodeo than to what roosters do to each other at a cockfight.

‘‘I sure do not think it is cruel at all,'' said Luther in a telephone interview.

‘‘By any reasonable standard, timing how long it takes for a pit bull to catch and take down a confined wild hog is cruel,'' countered Goodwin.

Writer Ian Frazier described a hog-dog rodeo held in Abbeville, Ga., in the New Yorker Magazine.

‘‘The hogs would run, snort, squeal, clack their teeth threateningly, charge the dogs, kick up dust, cause the handlers to dodge around trees,'' he wrote. ‘‘The hogs sometimes would be bitten, torn, grabbed, thrown, sat on, and finally shoved back into their pen.''

‘‘Many in the crowd would watch with an almost out-of-body concentration.''

In Florida, some members of the International Catchdog Association are being prosecuted for holding a hog-dog rodeo on a Seminole reservation in October of 2004.

‘‘Another group calling themselves the Hunting American Bulldog Club had organized some hog-dog fights in Texas, but they have been laying low recently because of all the awareness brought to this issue,'' said Goodwin.

Luther said animal rights activists - including the Humane Society and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, are spending tens of thousands of dollars to lobby against all hunting in the state legislatures of the South.

‘‘It's a manipulative, coordinated effort,'' she said. ‘‘A common citizen like me can't stop it.''

The Humane Society of the United States is lobbying to have hog-dog rodeos banned.

In Georgia, the bill died in a House committee after having passed the Senate ‘‘by a very healthy margin,'' recalled Goodwin, who blamed the loss on lobbyists for cockfighting.

‘‘Even though cockfighting is illegal, some legislators did not want increased penalties for that crime,'' he said. ‘‘That's why Georgia does not yet have a clear prohibition on hog-dog fighting.''

In the next session in Atlanta, he said, opponents of hog-dog rodeos will likely try to pass a specific ban rather than a broader bill against animal fighting.

Florida Attorney General Robert Butterworth issued an opinion on hog-dog rodeos in 1994 that said it ‘‘appears that these activities would constitute the torture of tormenting of, or cruelty to, animals as proscribed in'' state statutes.

 

Man the take the fun out of being here. So much for the land of the free. Socialism takes over. Is it called a civil war if we all take them down or is that a American right to form a malitia to take down currupt parties. Keep a close eye on the Gov.

 

"The Humane Society of the United States is lobbying to have hog-dog rodeos banned. "

These Humainiacs are out of hand!

They will stop at nothing short of eliminating all activities w/working breeds.

 

That's right!

Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesnt our constitution reffer to what your saying in a round about way?

 

We should form a group and lobby against them BSL, PETA and the like uncover their hidden agenda

 

Hell, cant be done. As we have them amoungst our mist already, when they come for their companion animals you will see them all crying then.

 

Well that explains a few things. Hard to fight when you have the enemy in the ranks around you. You are very correct the will be all crying then. drats!

 

Simms, It sure does. It absolutely does say that in the Constitution. Good job on that catch. Thank you very much.

 

Funny, the term Hog-dog Rodeo is one created by the AR whackos. I had never heard a catch comp called that in all my years.

Ol' JP don't know sh** from shinola! But the uneducated, gullible masses will fall in line with the propaganda machine.

 

I don't understand, hunting boars with dogs is still legal right? I'm a little fuzzy on this topic but don't you need to train your dogs? Or isn't it a good idea? So if the rodeos are illegal does that still mean that training your dog on your own property is illegal?

What about regular rodeos? Those aren't exactly gentle, humble sports and anmals are often injured... I guess because there are no "blood thirsty" dogs involved everyone chooses to ignore them.

 

Simms, Attila- right on. The time for change is way over-due, unfortunately most Americans will not fight until all their freedoms are stripped away. As long as they have a house, food, and a tv....most will not do anything to cause change.

Riptora-yes, to these people training a hog-dog is the same as putting them in "hog dog rodeos". Training a pup in a catch pen would also be illegal.

 

Thanks,, Too bad by the time all rights are stripped those that didn't hoard a few essential items will not be able to fight. I feel sorry for the none hoarders of those items. I think too many freedoms have been lost now. And I do cause friction politically about it. I can be a thorn with in my own party's side. More like a big top tent stake in the side.lol This is why I raise my own food, don't watch tv and hoard some essential items for figh.... Ah use later.

 

exactly, lol. I've been practicing living off the bare essentials for years. I'm confident I could survive if we lost all modern-day tools tomarrow.

"Whoever appeals to the law against his fellow man is either a fool, or a coward. Whoever cannot take care of himself without that law is both. For wounded man shall say to his assailant-If I live, I will kill you. If I die, you are forgiven. Such is the rule of honor"

I've always liked that quote

 

In Tennessee it is a felony to have a hog in a pen and even allow your dogs to bark at it much less practice catching....Call me a felon and pity the ignorant fool who comes here and tells em what I can do with my dogs on my proeprty.

The reason nothing is done to rodeos of that ature is because they are big money and have pretty much told the Humane society socialists to get lost or get crushed.

 

Also wanted to add, to these folks its more "humane" to take a young, unstarted pup into the woods and let him *try* and catch a boss hog. Without training on the proper way to catch a hog, most dogs would be beef jerky. Its not a nose-to-nose fight preferably, the dog catches by the ear and wears it out until it goes down so the hunters can come in and finish the job safely.

 

you can thank PETA for puttng the whispers in the ears of those who made this bill up... with money coming out of their asses they can sway people all they want. their goal? to end animal ownership of every kind to humans. ingrid newkirk said it herself. they are pathetic , however they have stars and money backing them up, along with the hsus and other parties. I will fight for my right to own whatever dog breed i want, and i will fight to wear my fur coat too, and to eat meat, etc.. i hate authority.

 

yep, and that concept makes as much sence as taking non MP and Infantry soldiers into Iraq and using them as such and wonder why we have so many fatalities. Duh. Makes you wonder if they even have a brain. These animal rights activist wont be happy till we are over populated with every form of prey and they all die of desease from such conditions. Look at the bovine problem in Michigan. We had a similar problem here with black tongue desease here in deer. You can't close out areas and let things get out of ballance. The natural predators are thined out too much for us not to hunt in their place. It just drives me nuts how ignorant these wacko's are. I would much rather read about PETA liberals in a history book than our breed of dog. We can replace PETA with the NRA we have done a better job protecting the eco system for much longer than any of the rest of them existed.

 

amazing all the replies to this thread yet few if any probably have any first hand knowledge on the quick catch comps or hog hunting. The trials were not designed for training for a dog before hog hunting. The majority of dogs are trained in the field following the pack and learning. seems most are exactly like what the say they dislike about the media-talking about something they are clueless about.

 

This discussion was in regards to Riptoras "So if the rodeos are illegal does that still mean that training your dog on your own property is illegal?". Noname, its clear you have some knowledge stowed away, but I have yet to read a post you are not attacking another simply for the sake of your enjoyment?

 

From a hunter's standpoint, what I understand...the new laws make catch comps illegal. These are events charge admission, entry fees, etc. Training a hunting dog is different from a catch comp.
The way we train is simple...if we're training a pup, he may go in the pen one time at 6 months on a small hog, then at 10 -12 months in the pen once on a larger hog. After that it's all woods time. For an adult who has never seen a hog, 1st time in with an experienced catchdog...then wait a week and back in solo, then it's all woods time.

For Noname a catchdog doesn't learn from following a pack. A catchdog catches...end of story. The only thing he may have to learn is what a bay is....the rest is all experience.