ABOUT OUR SPORT
Coonhunting is an old sport, and has long been a part of American heritage and tradition. Many fathers have spent countless hours afield with their children teaching them about hunting, gun etiquette, responsibility, respect of property, and conservation. Keeping children interested in the outdoors keeps their interest from wandering elsewhere. As has all types of hunting, coonhunting has come under fire as of late by the anti-hunting activists with their own political agendas and no knowledge of animal conservation. That is why I have added this page to address these issues.
Coonhunting with hounds involves training hounds to hunt for, trail, and tree raccoon. Hounds used for coonhunting are trained to trail coon and coon only and not to molest any other game (deer, fox, rabbits, etc.). The hound searches for the scent of a coon and opens (barks) upon finding the trail. He then trails the coon giving mouth as track dictates till the tree coon is in is found, or coon is forced to take refuge in a tree. He then locates and trees with a distinctive bark telling hunters coon is treed. In competition, upon arriving, coon is located, tree scored, and coon is left in tree. However, in training, coon are sometimes harvested. This serves to instill the desire for the hound to want to tree coon, and to keep him focused on coon alone. It also serves in conservation in keeping coon numbers in check.
Due to the recent drop in fur prices because of activist groups attacks on the fur industry, populations have skyrocketed. Coon have almost no natural enemies. With the fur price nearly nothing, hunting and trapping pressure has dropped dramatically, allowing population to increase to very high levels. Conservation officials and biologist have recognized this and extended the season here in Arkansas to nine months out of the year, only closed during the time raccoons are giving birth and raising young. They predate on young duck, quail, and turkey, and their eggs. Disease, such as rabies and distemper spread rapidly under these conditions. These overpopulated conditions cause major die-offs every few years because of spread of disease. Harvesting coon is a necessary function in the conservation process for coon, and the game they predate.
Coonhunters have the reputation of beer guzzling, indiscriminate killers with no regard for public property or conservation. This is not true! Coonhunting, and competition coonhunting is a multi-million dollar a year business. Coonhunters only have it in their best interest to see that conservation of coon is carried out properly. Coon are only harvested as necessary for training purposes. Without coon, there is no sport. Coonhounds are among the most numerous and popular registered breed in the U.S. today. Much of the money used in conservation is collected from coonhunters by way of licenses and taxes on hunting related businesses and expenditures. Without hunting, raccoon numbers will inevitably climb to unmanageable numbers. Already, professional snipers have to be hired to harvest deer and coyote because of overpopulation, and the danger it poses to pets, livestock, people, and the game itself. Any knowledgeable conservationist will tell you that harvesting is necessary in the management of healthy game populations. We, the hunter, are an integral part in the management and conservation of all game animals, and contribute the most to the preservation of game for generations to come.
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