http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20140311/articles/140319928
By GLENDA ANDERSON
Photo Copyright Jim Robertson
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
March 11, 2014
Mendocino County supervisors on Tuesday unanimously voted to support a bill that would overturn a year-old state ban on hunting bears and bobcats with hounds.
Assembly Bill 2205 would allow individual counties to decide whether to ban the use of hunting dogs to chase down and kill those animals.
“I think you guys should have the authority,” not somebody from Los Angeles or San Francisco, said Daniel Davis, a local member of California Houndsmen for Conservation, the bill’s sponsor.
The bill was introduced late last month by Assemblyman Tim Donnelly, a Republican candidate for governor and gun-rights advocate. Supervisor John Pinches asked that a letter of support for the bill be placed on the board’s agenda.
“This is an issue where we can basically take control,” he said Tuesday.
California’s ban on hounds for sports hunting has been in effect since January 2013. It continues to allow the use of hounds to hunt errant bears that cause property damage.
The ban was sponsored by the Humane Society of the United States.
No one at Tuesday’s meeting spoke in opposition to the newly proposed bill but national Humane Society officials said they are dismayed by the attempt to revive hound hunts. They called it “unsporting, cruel and unnecessary.”
Four Mendocino County residents, including Davis, his mother and father, and Steve Johnson spoke in favor of overturning the ban.
Johnson, a winemaker, said he moved to a rural area because “I want to have my dogs, I want to hunt bears,” he said. “It’s what I like to do.”
“Me and my dad, this is our passion,” Davis said.
Supervisor Carre Brown said allowing houndsmen to hunt bears reduces the number of bears that get into trouble and must be killed by federal trappers.
“Management of marauding wildlife I think is very important,” she said.
Pinches said hound hunting also draws tourism dollars.
“You’ve got to give people things to do,” he said.
The other three supervisors did not comment.
You can reach Staff Writer Glenda Anderson at 462-6473 or glenda.anderson@pressdemocrat.com
Exposing the Big Game 
I am just totally lost for words 😦 !!!!
WTF? I had no idea this was going on.
Hard to believe. Now the counties want control of the wildlife.
“you’ve got to give people things to do.” How about something a little less cruel??
I saw a lovely Mama bear and her two cubs running across the fwy 2 days ago. I have waited my whole life to see bears in the wild. It was so amazing and effectively erased all the bad things which had occurred earlier in my week. That this man Johnson and his dad and others like them just want to go out and kill them is beyond my understanding. Why would you want to go out and just kill and even worse terrify a creature before its death with dogs. There is absolutely no reason to give wildlife more of a struggle than it is already having at the hands of man and our ever encroachment upon it’s dwindling territory. Hunting is no longer necessary for our survival. Doing it for sport or because “It’s what I like to do” is completely uncreative. How sad and disconnected and boring can people be?? And trust me, I am being kind here!
WTF? California Houndsmen for Conservation?! WTF? Give people something to do?!
If they don’t “conserve” their prey, they won’t be able to play anymore.
I’ve asked the county board of supervisors to each let me know their stance on AB 2205. If any of you would like to express your opinion or ask each supervisor to take a stand, click the “contact” tab on this page to bring up the form that goes to all of them: http://www.co.mendocino.ca.us .
Thanks for the contact info.
This is from Miller regarding my HR in response to Jim’s earlier post about coyotes.
“Thank you for contacting MillerCoors. We appreciate your interest in our products.
As a company, we have a long history of sponsoring hunting, fishing and outdoors programs. We believe in the wise use of natural resources and support conservation and environmental projects as part of our ongoing sustainability efforts.
That said, MillerCoors shares your concern that the activities we support portray the right image for our brands. With regard to the photo you saw, this was a local store-sponsored event and our local distributor did provide a banner along with our main competitor. While all activities were held in accordance with the Michigan DNR regulations and statutes, MillerCoors did not support this event directly in any manner and the banner you brought to our attention has now been removed.
Thanks again for contacting MillerCoors.
Sincerely,
MillerCoors Consumer Affairs Department”
Of course the banner has been removed, the “event” is over. I knew Coors was a “wise use” supporter, but I didn’t realize Miller was in cahoots with them. Time to boycott Miller and stick with imports.
It is such crappy beer anyways.
What an ecologically ignorant and cruel thing to allow… =0(