Is hound hunting stressful to wildlife?
With hounds and bears, the odds favor the bear. Bears are in much better shape, are adapted to environmental conditions, and know the terrain. Pursued bears will only run as fast as the fastest dog and will actually walk on the long chases (Brad Allen, personal communication). The duration of the chase usually depends on the age and physical stamina of the bear. Experienced dog handlers frequently terminate a chase after 2-3 hours, especially when pursuing a small bear, because they know its very unlikely they will tree the bear. Relaying packs of dogs (with fresh dogs) into chases is a different story, but with Maines 4-dog limit the odds are that the bear will outrun the hounds. “Treeing” occurs if/when the bear becomes sufficiently pressured by hounds. During 17 years of working with bear dogs, Department regional wildlife biologist Doug Kane never saw a bear collapse or die during or after (i.e. collared research bears) a chase. It is understandable for people not experienced in hu
