Now if that ain't like tossing a bucket of gasoline on the fire!!!

The historical reason behind the anti-dog attitude of many State laws banning dogs on big game is hard to pin down, but it seems to revolve around a whole host of issues; tresspass rights, the belief that the use of dogs on big game is "unsporting", etc.

The use of dogs for tracking wounded game has never been popular in the USA except for some limited areas where they are legal for hunting big game.

Remember, too, because hunting is open to the "common man" and we have MANY hunters, the purpose of MANY US game laws is simply to make killing game more difficult. Short seasons, gun limitations, antler restrictions, prohibition on use of bait, night hunting, etc all are used to make the kill more difficult. The use of dogs in this context, particularly in the northern States has traditionally been seen to be "unsporting" {as are the other banned activities above}. So when a fellow tries to tell the Game Department of Idaho that dogs can be used not for "hunting" per se but rather for "tracking", all most of the Game Department officials can think of is a bunch of unmanaged howling butchers running free in the woods. They do not understand how tracking dogs can be used to conserve game.

Imagine a 55% recovery rate on bull elk for example. The Game Department knows that MANY elk are hit and lost, which means the hunter just keeps hunting and might therefore shoot another. Result; two bull elk killed, only one recovered, only one tagged. I have been speaking to several officials about just how tracking dogs could be used to recover some of these elk.

In all seriousness, with the damage being done to our herds by unrestricted wolf packs right now, recently some of the fellows I've spoken to are starting to listen. Your links here are instructive and very timely, as this year promises to be a devastating winter; both for winter kill itself and for predation on concentrated game. Game conservation is going to be a popular topic and maybe more will be willing to listen to options for the future.

In addition, I see game tracking with dogs as another sport that could be/would be regulated by the State. Like with hunting licenses, fees would be charged and it might be another source of income for the Game Department. If nothing else, maybe $$$ will get their attention...?