The province has issued a…

The province has issued a proposal to trap wild animals for the purpose of training dogs to hunt and destroy them. I am writing to oppose this policy on the strongest possible terms. As a professor who teaches human animal relations I see five problems with this proposal that are significant enough to reject it soundly.
i) There are dog breeds that have been bred over centuries to hunt and to assist humans with hunting. It is redundant to train them to do something they are bred to know how to do. Rather than teaching dogs skills they would not have otherwise, the practice would simply encourage blood lust in dogs that would be problematic in other venues.
ii) It is a cruel and outdated suggestion to cage animals for the purpose of tearing them to bits. It violates the idea and principle of animal rights and denies wild animals (coyotes, wolves, bunnies) the dignity of living according to their own natural instincts and habits. This policy would almost certainly be contested by organizations dedicated to defending the rights of animals.
iii) This legislated carnival of killing would teach hunters that killing wild animals for the simple pleasure of practicing on them is a great idea. This is a gross exaggeration of traditional hunting values. iv) the practice would encourage the idea that setting up one set of animals to kill another set of animals could be an exciting spectacle. It is reminiscent of the most brutal practices of ancient days and has no place in contemporary society.
v) The world is on fire in some places and sinking under the rising oceans in others. Human societies including Canada are struggling to develop more intelligent and sustainable relationships with the natural world. The natural world includes wld animals and the places that sustain them. This proposed policy harms the possibility of learning to treat wild animals, wild spaces, and natural resources with humility and respect.