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Page 1 of 2 <br />From: <br />Sent: Wednesday, December 09, 2009 8:19 PM <br />To: Gwen Harvey <br />Subject: Dogging Deer Committee <br />Dear Ms. Harvey, <br />I was unable to attend the meeting held Tuesday, December 8th, by the Dogging Deer Committee to <br />provide concerned citizen input regarding this issue. I spoke at a County Commissioners meeting last <br />January about this matter. I would like my voice heard as a concerned citizen. <br />Deer dog hunting Northern Orange County has become problematic. Something needs to be done about <br />this issue. There are several problems that arise from this method of hunting. <br />. Hunters from outside the county who are leasing land show no respect to adjacent property <br />owners. The majority of the hunting they do is during the week when many property owners are <br />at work. This makes it difficult to address the problems that arise from this type of trespassing. <br />This method of hunting prohibits the ability of local hunters without dogs to hunt and feed their <br />families. In my case, I had opened hunting on my land to a friend with a family of seven. He had <br />to give up tree stand hunting because these hunters allow their dogs to run through adjacent <br />properties and then follow behind them calling the dogs and using that as an excuse to go through <br />property that they are not leasing. This scares off the deer and puts the tree hunter at greater risk <br />of shooting a person who is not expected in the woods. Of course, the law does not allow them to <br />shoot a deer while looking for their dogs, but one can only imagine what really happens when <br />there are no consequences because of the limited capability of wardens to monitor every inch of <br />potential hunting in the rural parts of northern Orange County. <br />^ The third problem is the use of GPS collars on dogs. This enables a hunter to track the dog <br />tracking the deer and go to wherever the dog is to make the kill. Again, this lures hunters onto <br />unleased land. <br />Just recently, members of a dog hunting club leasing land near my home came onto private property and <br />rather than have a productive discussion they cursed and were confrontational. I was uncomfortable <br />after the encounter and made changes to my daily routine in order to ensure the safety of my family and <br />animals. We have No Trespassing signs as well as Beware of Dog signs and they are ignored by deer <br />dog hunters. Rural private property should not be treated as public lands. Dog hunters have made it <br />clear that they believe they have the right to trespass on private property if they are looking for their <br />dogs. I would like this clarified. <br />I am hopeful that this can be resolved for the northern sector of this county as it was for the southern <br />sector. Deer dog hunting should not be allowed in Northern Orange County. <br />Thank you for all you do to serve the citizens of Orange County, NC. <br />12/ 10/2009 <br />