The Arizona Game and Fish Commission meets on April 11th at Department Headquarters beginning at 8 am. Here is the Agenda.
Item 3 is the Petition by Center for Biological Diversity and others to Amend A.A.C. R12-4-318 Seasons for Lawfully Taking Wild Mammals, Birds, and Reptiles, and A.A.C. R12-4-304 Lawful Methods for Taking Wild Mammals, Birds, and Reptiles.
Here are the two Petitions.
The CBD, Mountain Lion Foundation, Lobos of the Southwest, Wildlife for All, and others want the Commission to eliminate hound hunting, pursuit seasons and GPS tracking of dogs. Here is a link to the March 4th webinar preparing their supporters for the April Commission meeting.
What can you do?
Conserve and Protect AZ (CPAZ) has prepared an action alert summarizing the issues and detailing responses and action to support the Commission. Here is the CPAZ Action Alert.
CPAZ’s Chuck Podolak and AZ Working Dog Alliance’s Chris Watson also recently participated in a podcast with HOWL. Here is the link.
https://www.howlforwildlife.org/howlcast
At first glance one might think this is simply about hound hunting for lions and bears, it’s not. It is another salvo against hunting, regardless of the species, and irrespective of the methods. The playbook tries to chip away at processes, the lifestyle, the methods, and the entire sport; all the while using the effort as a fundraising mechanism.
So whether or not you own dogs or hunt with them, ALL Arizona sportsmen and women need to let the anti’s know they are literally in a dog fight! At the same time, let our Commission know you have their backs, too.
The following is a link to the Commission page on the AZGF website which provides a means to contact each of the commissioners.
https://www.azgfd.com/about-arizona-game-fish/commission-public-information/about-the-commission/meet-the-commission/