The Magnolia State closed out it’s legislative session for the year. It seemed to be somewhat quiet on the outdoors front. But looking through the legislative tracker from Sportsmen’s Alliance, there were a couple of stand outs.

New Turkey Stamp

First up. SB2280 easily went through both houses and was signed by the governor. This bill requires a turkey hunter to purchase a turkey stamp. The fee will be $10 for residents and $100 for nonresidents. This will be funneled directly to the Fisheries and Wildlife Fund. Specifically, Section 7 lays out what the money may be spent on. This includes:

1. Paying administrative or processing costs associated with an electronic harvest tag program, or any other program governing or regulating the harvest of wild turkeys;
2. Restoring, enhancing or protecting wild turkey populations or their habitats on public or private lands in Mississippi as prescribed by the department;
3. Funding scientific research, as conducted by qualified professionals, into the ecology or management of wild turkeys, their habitats or their predators; and
4. Increasing access to publicly available turkey hunting opportunities.

These proceeds may be used as matching funds for grants and other financial rewards as long as they are in line with Section 7. The bill also allows the wildlife commission to determine whether or not the stamp may be physical or electronic and makes exceptions for lifetime license holders, youth under 16 years of age, seniors over 65, certain disabled hunters, and veterans rated 100% by the VA. The text does not specify whether the required stamp may be part of a combination license such as the Sportsman’s. My guess is that is likely will but that may be for the commission to decide.

Some may view this as more red tape. I think it’s a great step. This will allow better tracking of hunter participation so that we can better gauge harvest statistics. The fact that the dollars are specifically earmarked for turkeys and turkey habitat is something I can get behind. Wild turkeys across the country are experiencing dips in population and wildlife agencies generally rely mostly on license sales for research and enforcement.

Speaking of habitat, SB2281 that would have established a habitat stamp similar reasons as the turkey stamp died without vote. The nonresident price was $200 while being free for residents. I can’t be too upset about this. It seems every state is attempting to squeeze every cent they can out of nonresident hunters.

Residents should always be the priority, but pricing out nonresidents isn’t good business in the long run. It shifts pressure to other states that, inevitably, crack down on nonresidents. This domino effect ends with a net loss of opportunity for everyone.

Deer Dogs

I have to admit, I don’t feel as though I can fully explain this one but here it goes. HB826 failed to advance and that’s probably a good thing. Let’s first look at the title:

AN ACT TO PROHIBIT USING DOGS FOR HUNTING DEER; TO AMEND SECTIONS 49-7-31 AND 49-7-37, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CONFORM TO THE PRECEDING PROVISION; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

That first part is the only mention of dogs in the entire text. The amendments to the sections cited afterwards seem to be restructuring the seasons. Currently, there are established seasons when using dogs is allowed. This bill would have eliminated the dog seasons and turned them into normal (presumably non-dog) gun seasons. So while not a direct attack on hound hunting, it seems that it would be de facto illegal.

I know there’s a lot of strong opinions on using dogs for big game. I’ve never done it in the US but I have participated in one in Europe. Over there they are called driven hunts and utilize both dog and human beaters. I think many, probably most, dog hunters do their best to keep their hounds from running amok but many don’t. Even the most well-meaning houndsman has one get away every once in a while.

For me personally, the bottom line comes down to we have plenty of deer to go around and using dogs to hunt goes back eons. It’s one of the reasons humans domesticated wolves. It is the oldest form of true human-animal teamwork and there are entire subcultures built around it. Outlawing these practices erodes our collective identity. Not only that but arguing about it in the legislature divides us along lines that we really don’t need to draw. As a group, there are things that we can and should debate and police amongst ourselves but we should not do the anti-hunting groups’ work for them.

I’ve already reached out to my elected officials a couple times both to thank and admonish. I think we all should take an active role in our government. I don’t pretend to know everything about anything. The last thirteen years of my career beat the notion of complete knowledge out of me. But I will, going forward, try to stay up to date on legislation and regulations that affect the things I personally, deeply care about.