Oppose Dog & Wildlife Cruelty in Wisconsin by Opposing the Hounding Expansion Bill Now!

ACTION ALERT- The hounding expansion bill is headed to the Wisconsin Senate floor on Tuesday, February 13, 2024. Please consider contacting your Senator and ask if they oppose AB-512/SB-545.  See below testimony from Megan Nicholson Wisconsin Director for the Humane Society of the United States.  

THE HUMANE SOCIETY OF THE UNITED STATES- Testimony in Opposition to Senate Bill 545 

On behalf of the Humane Society of the United States and our supporters in Wisconsin, I am writing in

opposition to Senate Bill 545 I urge you to oppose this dangerous and reckless bill.

Each year, during one of the longest hound-training seasons in the nation, resident and nonresident

hunters pursue black bears. 

Spring is a precarious time for ground-nesting birds and other wildlife. It would be detrimental to allow

packs of GPS radio-collared hounds to run the woods and fields when ground-nesting birds, deer fawns, elk calves, and bear cubs are extremely vulnerable. The potential for sporting dogs in training to harm, disturb, maul or kill wildlife would undoubtedly increase. This goes against the very principle of ethical wildlife conservation and proper land stewardship.

In pursuit of wildlife and out of sight of the owner, hounds frequently trespass onto private property,

including family farms. Packs of marauding hounds cause skittish livestock, like sheep and cattle, to bolt.

Allowing hound training during springtime would be an additional risk to the safety of young calves and

lambs. Rural landowners often complain about hounds running through their lands and hunters trespassing to retrieve dogs. Expanding the training season will undoubtedly increase landowner complaints.

Hounding is also extremely unpopular. After the February 2021 Wisconsin wolf hunt, where nearly 90% of wolves killed by trophy hunters had been chased down by hounds, Remington Research conducted a poll. It found that 66% of Wisconsin voters oppose the hounding of wolves and most 67% of voters believe hound hunting is nothing more than state-sanctioned dogfighting. Furthermore, citizen resolutions to allow off-leash dog training have failed to garner majority support on the Wisconsin Conservation Congress’ Spring Hearing Questionnaire.

This reckless behavior harms taxpayers. The majority of wolf-hound conflicts occur during the current

bear-hound-training season. Lengthening the season to allow free-roaming packs of dogs to run through

wolf den sites will increase conflicts between wolves and hounds. Since 1985, state taxpayers have funded $1.08 million in compensation payments to houndsmen (for both hounds’ deaths and vet

bills), and this money pays houndsmen who knowingly and recklessly put their hounds in harm’s way—yet are compensated at up to $2,500 for each hound killed. Compare that to Wisconsin farmers who only

received $215,109 for cattle deaths by wolves. While the majority of taxpayers support compensation for

livestock and pet depredations, they do not support payments to resident and nonresident hound hunters.

It would also harm the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources’ wolf research. The DNR captures

and collars wolves in May and June when there is no dog training. Expanding training season would make it difficult, if not impossible, for the DNR to capture wolves for research, population, and health monitoring. Also, the proposed, expanded season would put wolves and hounds into conflict at wolves’ den sites. We urge you to stop the practice of hounding in Wisconsin, not expand it.