Adverse effects of hunting with hounds on participating animals and human bystanders

Abstract

In the face of biodiversity crises, some societies are re-examining many human uses of nature. One activity that may once have been unobjectionable has undergone little scrutiny in most countries: hunting mammals with free-running hounds. We present two novel datasets about this under-studied hunting method. In Wisconsin, USA, hounds and gray wolves occasionally interacted aggressively and human by-standers reported adverse interactions with hounds and their handlers. Self-selected samples cannot be used to extrapolate in space or time but do provide new information. Between 1999 and 2012, 176 hounds were reported to have suffered injury during encounters with wolves. No government data were collected on how many wolves or other non-target animals were injured by hounds as required by the U.S. Endangered Species Act. Between 2015-2021, bystanders (n=105) reported various incidents of illegal behavior by hounds and handlers, adverse interactions with law enforcement, and other adverse events. We propose reforms to wildlife policy, law enforcement policy, greater oversight of hounding, and criminal prosecution. We discuss the implications for theories of dog domestication.