(Louisiana continued)
On the 640,000-acre Kisatchie National Forest (KNF), the USFS proposed to ban dog-deer hunting during the 2009-2010 hunting season, but the influential Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission (LWFC) voted unanimously to allow eight days of dog-deer hunting in the KNF that season. Eight days of dog-deer hunting were allowed during the 2010-2011 season, as well. Dog-deer hunting was banned completely for the 2011-2012 season on Kisatchie National Forest. A federal appeals court upheld the ban: http://www.nola.com/outdoors/index.ssf/2014/10/dog-deer_hunting_still_banned.html.
South Carolina
Eighteen counties in South Carolina are closed to dog-deer hunting. The rest of the state is open for dog-deer hunting. In recent years, land owners, lease holders, and still hunters have become increasingly active in seeking relief from unwanted dogs on their land during deer season. In 2008 a series of stakeholder meetings was held around the state to hear both sides of the story. During the stakeholder meetings, permit systems similar to the one used in Georgia was discussed. No effective legislation has yet been passed to remedy the problem. Some landowners in South Carolina have taken steps toward an outright ban on dog-deer hunting in their state. See the details at: http://www.banscdeerdogging.com/
Tennessee
Dog-deer hunting is not allowed in Tennessee.
Texas
Early settlers in eastern Texas traditionally hunted deer using dogs. The tradition had been established in the southeastern states before settlers came to Texas. After several decades of unrestricted hunting and widespread habitat loss, deer were virtually extirpated from eastern Texas. In an effort to protect the limited resource, deer hunting using dogs was prohibited in 1925, but special laws allowed the practice to continue in some counties. By 1983, hunting deer with dogs was permitted by special law in 10 counties of eastern Texas. However, passage of the Wildlife Conservation Act of 1983 by the 68th Texas Legislature placed all wildlife resources under the regulatory responsibility of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) and repealed special laws permitting hunting deer with dogs. In 1984, opposition to closing deer hunting using dogs and strong public sentiment against dog hunting prompted the TPWD Commission to conduct a 2-year study of the effects of hunting deer with dogs. The regulation that permitted hunting deer with dogs remained unchanged pending the conclusion of the study. The study (Spencer 1986) documented that hunting deer with dogs was a volatile social and political issue with associated negative impacts on biological aspects of deer management. As a result of the 1984 study, the TPWD Commission reduced the season for hunting deer with dogs during the 1986-1987 hunting season to the last half of the regular deer season in the 10-county area where the practice was legal. This response was an effort to reduce the tension between landowners and sportsmen using dogs and to retain the traditional method of deer hunting with dogs.
Once again, public pressure to close deer hunting with dogs in eastern Texas and hunter pressure to allow use of dogs for the entire regular deer hunting season precipitated another investigation by the TPWD Commission. In 1989 a study was conducted to evaluate any changes that had occurred during the interim in sociological and biological aspects of hunting deer with dogs. The objectives of this study were to determine landowner and sportsmen attitudes toward hunting deer with dogs and to determine the magnitude and distribution of dog-hunting. As a result of these investigations, the TPWD Commission voted to prohibit hunting deer using dogs beginning with the 1990-91 season.
Campo, J.J. and G.E. Spencer. 1991. Regulatory response to deer hunting with dogs in eastern Texas. Proc. Annu. Conf. Southeast. Assoc. Game and Fish Comm. 45:235-240. (first two paragraphs of paper, quoted verbatim above)
(The 10 counties are Hardin, Harrison, Jasper, Newton, Orange, Panola, Polk, Sabine, San Jacinto, and Tyler.)
