Thanks for the heads up.

Keith
California

Just wanted to let you know I called and faxed George Nakano regarding the bill. What a joke of a government we have in this state! I can afford the tax. This will punish lower income earners, not the rich. What a bunch of hypocrites!

Bill
California

Dogs Not Fair Chase

Some people responded to the ban on the use of hunting dogs as if they were banning hunting altogether. I hunt on public land mostly because it's cheaper than a private ranch hunt but also because it's much more challenging. Dogs, I believe, have their place as hunting companions in duck blinds or quail hunting which is not like chasing the animal down and shooting it.

Can hunting be sitting in a chair on a private ranch, shooting a big buck and acting as if the great hunter earned their deer? I saw one where the guide was in the blind pointing out which buck out of herd the hunter with the thousand dollar gun should shoot. This is what we show the public as professional hunting in our sport. Anyone who pays for a trophy on private land is not a hunter but a show-off. That person has no right to claim that prize as theirs because they did not work for it. I am 25 years old and have hunted in Southern California for 5 years. I have seen shootable deer but passed on them for something bigger, at least a decent size 2x2. I have no problem passing on small deer because that is the ethics we practice and try to teach. The day I get a trophy will be an exceptional experience because it will be earned rather than bought. That one deer will be worth a thousand times more than a farmed, ranched cow/deer our professional shooter/ out-of-shape loser/ no-hunting-skills moron shot with the fancy one-time-use equipment.

Using dogs for bear and pigs is unethical and unfair to the game we hunt. We as hunters owe these animals the right to be taken fairly on even terms on their grounds. That's hunting. In California a rifle gives you no advantage on public land hunting — you still have to put in the hard work. Hunting has become a sporty name we use to describe what shooting an animal from a chair on a farm is. The knowledge and skill in finding game, stalking, and trying to outsmart an animal which has better senses is no longer required.

All you have to do to have big game trophies in your den is to buy them from a farm. As long as you can afford it you too can be a professional trophy hunter, no skill needed. Corner an animal with dogs and shoot it — now that's how skilled hunters do it. Right?

Neil Narayan
California