Right or wrong?

[NoDogNow]

Check out this story:

http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=1586602&page=1


I'm ambivalent about this.  Admittedly, it sounds terrible.  But they ARE chasing wild jackrabbits, which in my experience are nothing but evil, nasty pestilential rabies bearing creeps.  (Yes, I admit it, I hate jackrabbits.)

And while it's politically correct to use other lures, just exactly why is it wrong to let a sight hound hunt real, actual prey? 

The only thing I AM certain of is that the California legislature has bigger problems to solve than this!

[newflvr]

I DO have a problem with it.  That said, my female Newf, Lucille used to catch rabbits here off the horse trails and eat them while I watched.....I couldn't really tell her to drop it after she'd already killed it.  And I never dreamed a Newf could be fast enough to catch anything except maybe snails.  But somehow, I do think it's barbaric to set up a course to kill other animals.  I guess my justification with Lucille was Darwin was right:  survival of the fittest is the law of the land.

[Newf Lover]

my female Newf, Lucille used to catch rabbits here off the horse trails and eat them while I watched.....I couldn't really tell her to drop it after she'd already killed it.  And I never dreamed a Newf could be fast enough to catch anything except maybe snails. 

For being such sweet, gentle dogs, I have heard some pretty horrific stories of Newf ferocity.  Like yours about Lucille and another a friend of mine from Canada told me, about a monster Newf he knew back home who lived on a Logging yard.  He liked humans but he would kill any other dog that happened to venture onto his property.  Not just chase them off, but chase them down and KILL them.  Wow!  That's obviously not the norm, but Drake has pinned me down a few times and I have wondered what he'd do to someone he didn't like too much.    And he's pretty fast too, he can chase me down at a full sprint.  It's actually kind of comforting to know that he can handle himself and isn't ALL Teddy Bear.

[nostaw]

Welcome USA to the long and slippery slope of animal rights!

Having been through this in the UK, all I can offer is my sympathy. Whatever the rights and wrongs of Coursing you have my sympathy. Legislation will drive the sport underground. Where before it was done in the open it will become secretive. Added to the sport of coursing will be the secret meetings, the involvement of crime and the excitement of watching an illegal sport.

And what will happen to the dogs? They will be hidden away, when they get too old they will be abandoned or killed and there will be the kudos of owning a "real" hunting dog something that will attract those who are not fit to own a dog in the first place.

In the UK, foxhunting was dying out if you look at the number of hunts in the 1900's compared with now. The politicians, the media and everyone else turned it into a city versus country issue, the result more people turned up at the start of this years hunting season than for a very long time. and if a pack of hounds following a lure gets diverted by a fox, then that's not illegal.

And what's next on UK animal rights target? Shooting and Fishing. Whatever else you do, for heavens sake defend your freedom to choose. We're further down the slippery slope in the UK and the banning of any sport whether you agree with it or not only allows activists to get on their high horses to ban something else. From my experience in the UK, far better education than legislation, if you make these things illegal you make them exciting if you ignore them in time they go away. As people get more used to supermarket meat the more they are unlikely to enjoy bloodsports.

My personal feelings on this matter are, there is nothing wrong with hunting with dogs for food, but I would not get any pleasure from being awarded points for a kill. I would not enjoy or ever take part in such an activity. I have enough trouble with my newfies catching the occasional trout and salmon!

lol

Andy Bell & Hovis

[newflvr]

Sorry, Newf, but looking at your avatar and thinking of Drake running full speed (I know, I know....he CAN do it) just makes me giggle! 

[shangrila]

I have a problem with this. It reminds me of dog fights or chicken fights - I have never understood why people find amusement in animals hurting one another. Makes me ill.

[Newf Lover]

Sorry, Newf, but looking at your avatar and thinking of Drake running full speed (I know, I know....he CAN do it) just makes me giggle! 

Hey now, don't let the beer fool you!  He's not ALWAYS drunk!     It is funny to see Newfs running fast, you'd think they do the Da-dump-dee-dump "Now where did he go?"

I forgot to say my feelings on this issue.  After reading the article I am against it.  Blood sport is wrong, no matter how pretty you package it.  Unless the Hunters ate the rabbits afterwards, maybe that would change my mind, but that's not the case.  Many of the rabbits are getting ripped up by the dogs and dying painful deaths.  That's just wrong.  As an animal lover, I can't condone this practice.  What's the most unbelieveable part is this going on here in my homestate, good ol' bleeding heart, liberal California!  Things never cease to amaze me here...

[NoDogNow]

It reminds me of dog fights or chicken fights

True enough.  And both of those things used to be legal as well, albeit on the downward slope, as Andy describes fox hunting in the UK. 

But now, having made both illegal, they contribute to the bottom line of the criminal element in every city in America.  Now instead of being regulated, they're underground.   

And we all know the story of how having their sport driven underground has affected the temperment of the most common fighting breeds, particularly pits. 

We should have left well enough alone.

Based on that history, I think I'd much rather just leave things alone in this case, and let the small group of people who are interested in it kill some jackrabbits from time to time, and let the PETA people find out about them and picket.

This is one of those news stories/issues that politicians love, because they can use it to DISTRACT us from the fact that they're not doing their jobs!  For that reason alone, I'm tempted to start sending snotty emails to every assembly person in the state!

[chaos270]

I'm sorry but there are other lure coursing options available such as the plastic bag or fluffy attached to the pulley system. Yes dogs do get caught in the lines occasionally but it's more humane than just killing for the fun of it.  Another thing is that greyhounds would be just as happy to sack out on the couch.  Our greyhound that passed away last year was off the track and she was generally the lump on the couch.  Unfortuately she managed to grab a rabbit's ear through a fence and ripped it off.  It was right after the Tyson/Holyfield incident so the still alive rabbit became known as Holyfield and he got hit by a car a few years later we think because of his hearing impairment.  Of course it happened while my sister the drama queen was holding the leash so she was too busy freaking out to do much about it.

[NoDogNow]

Don't misunderstand me; I'm not saying they SHOULD do it.  I mean, the plastic bags are a hella bunch less messy!

But I can't see any sort of logical argument for making it ILLEGAL to do it. 

The more I think about the whole media ruckus that's being raised by the story (including by me, posting this  ) the more irritated I am about the whole thing, and the more I think that things should be left alone. 

[chaos270]

I do agree with the whole fact that once it becomes illegal it'll attract more to the idea just a dog and rooster fighing have. I think educating people would be alot easier and efficient than making it illegal.....I guess I got a little off topic earlier but giving that knowledge would be better than making it illegal.  The governmant also has a tendency to jump without looking at the other options.

[GR8DAME]

I don't know if making illegal will make it worse or not, but you can count me in with the bleeding-heart liberals because in my opinion, it is just WRONG. These people are not hunting to put food on the table, they are not competing using an acceptible alternative like lures, they are killing for the sheer pleasure of killing. It is no different than dog fighting, bull fighting, bear baiting and the canned hunts of exotic species. I simply cannot comprehend the mind-set that makes tearing another living creature to shreds unmercifully a pleasurable experience that proves my dog is better than yours. Perhaps if I can catch some nice flies, these "sportsmen" would like to tear their wings off and watch them stumble around till they die. After all, they are just nasty old disease carrying flies.
Off my soapbox now...
Stella

[Leah...]

i am not saying that this is right, but i am definetly not saying it is wrong either. i perfer to keep my "side" private. we should not say "after reading this...." because that is one persons opinion, and you should research before you believe the first person who tries to educate you on the matter. Greyhounds coursing is not as deadly as greyhoung racing, it is toally diffferent. it is VERY different from cock fighting and dog fighting. in those types of fights the animals are expected to fight to the death. in loure coursing greyhounds are tested to see if they CAN catch and kill a rabbit. if they do something wrong (which they rarely do, because they are so well trained) and the rabbit is humanly euthanized and the dog must go back to plastic bags to learn how to correctly attack the prey, so they don't die a horrible death. Now, i have made many friends on this web site, and i would not like to ruin that, so i am exposing both sides of this matter the best i can. feel free to correct me if you feel i have missed something. I have two pet rabbits, Spanky and Sandy, so it really hurts me to know that others like them  are dying right now. i mean, i cry when i see a furry patch on the road! i am almost as close to my rabbits as i am to my dogs, and people say "they are just rabbits" but the same person would jump you if you said "it is just a dog". they have personalities and feelings just like dogs and humans, and they deserve to be given a fair chance. which they are given with greyhound coursing. this sport is older than fox hunting, and greyhounds (and other sighthounds) were bred to hunt the vermen of the fields, and to deprive them of that would be cruel and wrong. The rabbits used are set free in a field for (i believe) 10 minutes. they can hide in brush, run, whatever they want. then the dogs are set loose (and trust me, the bunnies have plenty of warning, these trials can be very loud) and they hunt them down, sometimes succesfully, sometimes not. again, i am not biased in any way, i am just trying to make order of things.

i hope this makes sense, i am tired!

don't take this personally anyone!!!! 

Leah