Agenda - 01-21-2010 - 6a - Laserfiche WebLink

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Services) for hunters whose dogs are caught or left behind on private property -are not deemed to provide the "blanket" protection some seek. (Note: Anson, Gate and Moore counties have obtained State approval to compel additional requirements/restrictions about hunting deer with dogs; i.e., requiring the dog to wear a collar identifying the name and address of the owner.) ^ NC Wildlife Resources officials are short staffed and hard pressed to respond sufficiently to counter or apprehend perceived or actual trespassers. ^ Law enforcement has found it difficult to precisely quantify the extent of the problem out in the field since situations may arise and dissipate before they arrive on the scene, incidents may simply go unreported, and individuals may be fearful of calling attention to complaints or having to testify in court. ^ Criticism and objections were directed towards using dogs to hunt deer, not towards using dogs to hunt other wildlife such as rabbits or game birds. ^ The central deer season with gun hunting allowed in Orange County for 2009 was November 15, 2009 -January 1, 2010. Any regulatory action authorized by the General Assembly for Orange County in 2010 could be implemented and effective no sooner than for the 2010 deer season. Additionally, County staff has learned of a "Survey of Landowners Who Own Large Tracts of Land Concerning Deer Management and Hunting", conducted by Responsive Management in December 2008 for the NC Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) and published in 2009. The study entailed a telephone survey of owners of tracts of land of at least 5 acres in the state. The majority of landowners responding used the land as a residence for their own use or that of another person and identified locations as being rural, whether a farm or not. The mean age of respondents was 60 and the mean amount of time in the community was 34 years. The total number of survey respondents was 1619 with Orange County respondents representing 3.6 percent (n=59). The top counties in which the tracts of land are located among landowners in the sample were Union, Randolph, Chatham, Orange, Wilkes, and Rockingham. (Only those with 5 acres or more were kept in the survey.) (Note: The complete Survey is included with this agenda item on the County website - www.co.orange.nc.us -under "Meeting Agendas" -January 21, 2010 -Item 6-a.) The NCWRC survey queried landowners on their opinions of deer and the deer population, problems with deer, hunting of deer on land, management of deer on land, other opinions on deer hunting regulations, and overall participation in outdoor activities. Survey results most applicable to the dogging deer issue before the BOCC are detailed below: • Ninety-three percent approved of legal, regulated hunting. • Ninety-two percent agreed that written permission from the landowner should be required to hunt on private land. • Top four reasons cited for not allowing others beyond the landowner or immediate household to hunt on the land were -concern about a hunter injuring another person on