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Local opinion: It’s time for Arizona to ban dog pack hunting – Arizona Daily Star

The following is the opinion and analysis of the writer:
Russ McSpadden
I grew up with hunting. The hunters who taught me were conservationists at heart — people who loved the land and wildlife, respected the tradition and skill of hunting, and liked putting wild turkey and venison on the dinner table from time to time.
Today, a tainted form of hunting far from the tradition I grew up with is commonplace on Arizona’s public lands, threatening our state’s natural beauty and biodiversity. Dog pack hunting is unethical, technologically dependent, and dangerous to our most endangered and spectacular species. It’s time for Arizona to ban the practice.
When I was a teen the only technology we relied on was a good pair of boots, hot coffee, patience and a bolt action. Dog pack hunting, on the other hand, is lazy, high-tech trophy hunting that has no place in Arizona’s great outdoors.
Hunters today can track packs of dogs and the prey they’re chasing from miles away, sometimes from the comfort of their vehicles, using a multibillion-dollar network of satellites zooming 12,000 miles above the Earth.
This hunting method violates principles of fair chase, the ethical foundation of hunting that many Arizonan hunters honor. According to the Arizona Game and Fish Department, fair chase requires that hunters pursue wildlife in a manner that doesn’t provide them with an improper or unfair advantage. The focus should be on skill, respect and sportsmanship. GPS- and satellite-enabled dog pack hunting — where technology overwhelms the ability of wildlife to elude detection — is the antithesis of fair chase.

These ethical concerns alone are enough to justify a ban, but ecological risks compound the urgency.
Packs of hounds often roam for miles, creating risks for federally protected species like Mexican gray wolves, jaguars and ocelots. Over the years, packs of dogs have chased, harassed and treed at least four jaguars. One ocelot in Arizona has been pursued and treed several times. It’s only a matter of time before a pack of dogs injure or kill a Mexican wolf pup during denning season.
All of these animals are protected under the Endangered Species Act, but allowing dog packs to roam critical habitats directly undermines their survival and Arizona’s rich natural heritage.
Arizona Game and Fish bears the responsibility for ensuring these species are safe, and banning dog-pack hunting is an essential step in fulfilling that duty. That’s why the Center for Biological Diversity, where I work, has filed a petition asking the Arizona Game and Fish Commission to ban the practice once and for all.
To its credit, the commission has a history of leadership on ethical hunting issues. In 2019, commissioners banned wildlife-killing contests, acknowledging that such events violated ethical hunting standards. In 2022, they banned the use of game cameras for hunting, recognizing the technology’s violation of fair chase principles. These actions strengthened Arizona’s hunting traditions by holding hunters to a higher standard of ethics and conservation.
A ban on dog pack hunting would build on this legacy. As our petition highlights, the practice has become so technologically dependent and dangerous to endangered species that it can no longer be justified. By taking action, the commission can ensure that Arizona’s hunting culture remains principled, sustainable and respectful of wildlife.
Hunters, conservationists and wildlife lovers all share a common goal: protecting the natural world. I urge the commission to consider this proposal not as a critique of hunting, but as a defense of what hunting should represent — respect, skill and a commitment to preserving all of Arizona’s wildlife species for generations to come.
Follow these steps to easily submit a letter to the editor or guest opinion to the Arizona Daily Star.
Russ McSpadden is a Southwest conservation advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity.
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