California Law Bans Using Dogs to Hunt Bears and Bobcats

Advocates say the hunting dogs are put at risk.

Beginning Jan. 1 it will be illegal to use packs of dogs to chase, corner, and ultimately shoot down bears and bobcats in California. Backers of the law say it's not only unfair to the hunted animals but also potentially dangerous and borderline abusive to the dogs.

Gov. Jerry Brown signed SB 1221 into law in September, banning the use of hounds to hunt bears and bobcats, the Huffington Post reported. The practice involves unleashing packs of trained dogs to track down, chase, and tree bears. Once cornered, hunters can then shoot the animals. 

Seventeen states still permit the use of dogs to hunt bears, while 15 ban hunting hounds. In the remaining 18 states, it is illegal to hunt bears at all. In California, bear hunting season was closed early when the allotted number of licensed kills -- 1,700 -- was reached. Preliminary data puts the number of those kills tracked by dogs at less than half.

It is a sport with a long, robust history, and hunting enthusiasts argue that the new ban impedes on a legacy of tradition. They claim they much prefer the chase aspect of the hunt, and that bears and bobcats are often released.

The Humane Society of the United States believes otherwise, and supporters of the bill maintain that it is intended to protect not only California's bear and bobcat populations, but the hunting dogs as well. Using a pack of dogs to run down another animal can be seen as unfair, and once a bear or bobcat is in a tree, it's not a shot a hunter is likely to miss. What's more, in confrontations between dogs and game, dogs are often mauled or thoroughly exhausted by the hunt. When it comes to hound hunting, it seems that all animals involved face unnecessary risk and abuse.

The sport is similar to English fox hunting, which was banned in different parts of the United Kingdom starting in 2002.

Do you agree with the ban? Tell us why or why not in the comments below. 

Source: The Huffington Post

View the original article here

Animals in Translation: Using the Mysteries of Autism to Decode Animal Behavior

I don't know if people will ever be able to talk to animals the way Doctor Doolittle could, or whether animals will be able to talk back. Maybe science will have something to say about that. But I do know people can learn to "talk" to animals, and to hear what animals have to say, better than they do now. --From Animals in Translation

Why would a cow lick a tractor? Why are collies getting dumber? Why do dolphins sometimes kill for fun? How can a parrot learn to spell? How did wolves teach man to evolve? Temple Grandin draws upon a long, distinguished career as an animal scientist and her own experiences with autism to deliver an extraordinary message about how animals act, think, and feel. She has a perspective like that of no other expert in the field, which allows her to offer unparalleled observations and groundbreaking ideas.

People with autism can often think the way animals think, putting them in the perfect position to translate "animal talk." Grandin is a faithful guide into their world, exploring animal pain, fear, aggression, love, friendship, communication, learning, and, yes, even animal genius. The sweep of Animals in Translation is immense and will forever change the way we think about animals.


*includes a Behavior and Training Troubleshooting Guide

 

Among its provocative ideas, the book:

• argues that language is not a requirement for consciousness--and that animals do have consciousness
• applies the autism theory of "hyper-specificity" to animals, showing that animals and autistic people are so sensitive to detail that they "can't see the forest for the trees"--a talent as well as a "deficit"
• explores the "interpreter" in the normal human brain that filters out detail, leaving people blind to much of the reality that surrounds them--a reality animals and autistic people see, sometimes all too clearly
• explains how animals have "superhuman" skills: animals have animal genius
• compares animals to autistic savants, declaring that animals may in fact be autistic savants, with special forms of genius that normal people do not possess and sometimes cannot even see
• examines how humans and animals use their emotions to think, to decide, and even to predict the future 
• reveals the remarkable abilities of handicapped people and animals 
• maintains that the single worst thing you can do to an animal is to make it feel afraid
  
  
  

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