Minutes 09-20-2011 - Laserfiche WebLink

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county which is vulnerable to hunters from other counties and a single small hunting club in the northern-most tip of the county. Given increases in population and density, Orange County leaders feel that they can no longer reliably protect private property and resident safety from dog deer hunters. The ban is widely supported throughout northern Orange County. A small hunting club in the northern tip of the county opposes the ban. Orange County fully supports deer, fox, rabbit and other forms of hunting. The county's decision to seek the ban is based on a thorough examination of the issue which included community meetings and public hearings. • County officials, the sheriff, animal control and NC Wildlife Resource Commission held community meetings with the dog deer hunters and northern county residents. • Two public hearings were held where residents and dog deer hunters gave testimony • The primary issues were damage to private property and public safety from firearms discharged near private homes. The hunters that oppose the ban did not offer a solution to these dangers. In the winter of 2010, the county commissioners voted unanimously to seek a ban for county- wide ban for dog deer hunting. The board seated in December 2010 reaffirmed this commitment and unanimously voted to include the dog deer hunting ban in the priorities for the 2011 legislative agenda. This is a local property rights and personal safety issue and unrelated to important discussions that are occurring with regard to hunting elsewhere in the state. Marilee McTigue read a prepared statement. "Hello, my name is Marilee McTigue. And I live in rural Orange County. First, I would like to thank you for continuing to address this matter of Dog Deer Hunting in Orange County. And I encourage you, and all the staff of Orange County, including the sheriff and animal control, to take a proactive role to ensure the safety and quality of life of our citizens. As an active community participant in Orange County, I have talked with folks from the northern half of the county, I have seen their written statements, and I have watched the county try to deal with the issue of Deer pog Hunting. While I feel very lucky to live on the western side of the Dog Deer Line, it makes me very upset to know that our neighbors and fellow Orange County Citizens that live on the other side of the line are saddled with these continuing problems of safety and disrespect for their individual property rights. I personally respect an individual's right to hunt on their own land, public game lands, and land where they have written permission from the owner. But I also respect an individual's right to restrict these activities on their own land. Unfortunately, deer, and the dogs that chase them, can't read the "no trespassing" signs. I know that many of our neighbors in Northern Orange County have dealt with threats to their land, animals, and even their own safety, every hunting season. I know that some of these people are so affected by these threats that they won't speak out. So I am here to