IWCA Legislative Committee Chair, Eugenia Hunter, says in a letter mailed today to the Wisconsin Senate Natural Resources Committee and Wisconsin Assembly Chairman of the Committee on Natural Resources and Sporting Heritage, Alvin Ott:
"The Irish Wolfhound Club of America, Inc., with over 800 members nationwide, a number of whom live in Wisconsin, has become aware of the regulations promulgated by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources which allow hunting wolves with dogs, while at the same time prohibits the dogs killing wolves or training dogs to hunt wolves. These regulations not only endanger our dogs, but also pose potential legal consequences to the dogs’ owners whose dogs have the instinct to chase prey and perhaps even kill it, which is a violation under the limitations set forth in the Wisconsin regulations.
"While Irish Wolfhounds were historically bred to hunt wolves by sight, not scent and to dispatch them to protect their owner’s life and property, and we like to think that our dogs could still perform this function, we disagree that they should be used in the highly contrived "sport" proposed by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
"We urge you to enact legislation which would prohibit hunting with dogs before there is a preventable disaster."