I am writing to express…

I am writing to express concerns about the proposed amendment to the Fish and Wildlife Act, 1997. The amendment will allow the expansion of licenses for train and trialing facilities in Ontario. Train and Trialing facilities purchase coyotes from trap lines to use as bait in enclosed pens for hound dogs to chase for training. At trial's multiple hound dogs can hunt down coyotes, which allow a coyote be trapped along the fence line and killed by mauling. These facilities can also use foxes and hares. I do support hunting, I do not support using animals as bait to teach hunting in an enclosed area, no matter the size, or hides provided. Train and Trialing is a form of blood sport, and it has no place in modern dog training or trials.

Trafficking wildlife for bait sport was outlawed in 1997 in Ontario, with the grandfathering of 60 facilities with the goal of shutting down this industry due to animals in distress and animal’s dying cruel deaths. Today only 27 facilities remain, and I have been unable to find information available on the conditions, regulations, inspections or welfare/ disease protocols. These facilities are reported as being about 100-200 acres in size, with hides that the coyotes can hide in if they are able to outrun the hounds. All coyotes used in penning were sourced from trapping lines to be transported and housed at these facilities. Foxes may be purchased from breeding operations, but still suffer the same fate as their wild caught counter-parts.

I have been a professional dog trainer for the last 15 years and have trained working breeds in protection, scent detection and obedience. Coyote/ fox penning is not supported by many reputable hunters in Canada and other parts of the world, especially in the UK where mounted hound hunts pursue wild foxes without violating the fair chase principle. Nor is it supported by most dog trainers or dog sport enthusiasts. Breeding wild animals in captivity does not make them less wild or deserving of respect and protection from cruelty.

Coyote's are relatives of dogs, and they have strong social family groups. While the coyote groups in Ontario can sustain their population despite hunting, that does not mean it is okay to kill individual animals in such a way. Trapping and trafficking wildlife to be bait in sport is the definition of disrespect and animal cruelty of wildlife.

Dogs have amazing olfactory ability (scenting) and can learn to smell and detect coyotes for hunting in open season, without using captured coyotes as live bait. Train and Trialing is lazy dog training. It is also a bait sport, which disregards the distress, suffering and death of the bait animals.

Coyote penning is also being banned in the United States for similar reasons:

1) Coyotes and foxes are vectors for rabies and a public health risk exists when they are trafficked and confined
2) Coyote penning is not hunting, and reputable hunters do not trap prey in a confined area to hunt as it violates the principle of fair chase
3) Hounds are stronger, faster and bigger than coyotes, while hunting in the wild allows the principle of fair chase, penning violates this. So much so that many reputable hunters in the US have spoken up against it. Wild animals do not belong in pens to be killed by domestic animals in such a horrific way.

Also consider

-Injured coyotes from trapping cannot run fast to get to the hides (all coyotes captured for penning have been caught on live traps)
-Pregnant coyotes cannot run fast to get to the hides
-This would be classified as dog fighting and be illegal if you swapped the species from coyotes to dogs, and coyotes are apart of the canine family and have rich social lives
-You do not need live bait to teach hounds to track scent; they are born with this ability from years of genetic selective breeding. You do not need to teach a hound to hunt, you only need to expose them to the scent they will hunt, and you do not need live animals for this.
-Why is the ministry interested in bringing this back when the government outlawed it in 1997?
-How much money is involved in selling captured coyotes, because in the United States it is a lot because so many animals die in these competitions and facilities that the demand is high
-How much money will the ministry be making from this industry?
-Allowing wild animals to be captured and torn apart alive is disgusting
-Legalizing animal abuse to prevent it from going underground is not the right solution, prosecute them and pursue them, big fines, big jail time
-Don't normalize animal abuse this would be illegal for domestic animals and live stock to meet this end, wild life has less protection because it is not expected for them to be caught and kept this way for bait
-There are many documented studies showing a link between animal cruelty and domestic violence, why is the ministry so eager to support this group of people who are passionate about expanding this "sport"?

One concern listed in an interview shares that the government is worried about the sport going underground. While this likely already occurs, one route is to set the fines high, and include jail time. We must also ask, when would we take this approach with anything else? If we were worried about dog fighting going underground, would we legalize it? No, we would continue to prosecute those who disrespect life and fine them/ charge them accordingly. Coyotes are relatives of dogs, and while the space where the hunt occurs is large, a coyote is no match for a pack of hound dogs, who will find them easily, once cornered on the fence line, the coyote will be torn apart alive, this is no different than dog fighting. Most disturbing is it involves wild animals that have been captured for bait. Undercover investigations of similar facilities in the United States led to 16 people being charged because of inhumane practices, conditions and animal abuse.

Please reconsider, these facilities were outlawed in 1997 for a reason, and the grandfathering was to help wind down the end of an era. There are plenty of other ways to be an avid hunter, outdoorsmen and dog trainer, then being involved in blood sport. The argument that pens keep hunting dogs safer and the public safer, is also not a justification for this type of animal abuse. When you hunt in the wild use an e-collar and hunt away from major roads. Nothing justifies this.