Take Action: Virginia Proposed BAN on Predator Calling Competitions

By Hunter Nation | June 15, 2021

Take Action NOW - Public Comment Period on Proposed Regulation - June 15 – July 30, 2021 

https://dwr.virginia.gov/regulations/2021-predator-hunting-contests/

On May 27, 2021, the Virginia Board of Wildlife Resources, pursuant to §§ 29.1-103, 29.1-501, and 29.1-502 of the Code of Virginia proposed amendments to the Commonwealth’s regulations governing hunting, trapping, and terrestrial wildlife.

VA DWR Public Comments

Here is an email text that you can send to voice your opposition to the Predator Calling Competition Ban:

Dear Commissioner,

I am writing to share my strong opposition to the proposed rule that will effectively end predator calling competitions in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
As a lifelong hunter, I believe in responsible management of our wild game resources, including predators.  Not only do these competitions help manage the coyote and other predator populations, but they also provide a positive economic impact in the rural communities that host them every year.
As hunters, we also have a constitutionally protected right to hunt that has been enshrined in the Virginia constitution for many years.  I believe that if the Commission passes this resolution, effectively ending predator calling competitions, it would be a direct infringement of our constitutionally protected right and would force us to challenge this ban in the courts.
It is my sincere hope that you and your fellow Commissioners vote this resolution down and protect the future of hunting in Virginia.
Sincerely,

Comments on the proposal are solicited during a public comment period that closes on July 30, 2021.

That means the clock is ticking for the hunters, trappers, farmers, small business owners, and others in Virginia who will be adversely impacted by this ban and their long-standing conservation efforts to control the predator population by continuing coyote calling contests. Hunter Nation stands ready to continue our support of their efforts against this ban which is being driven by people who have no interest in protecting the future of conservation in Virginia.

Methods for Comment

Online: https://dwr.virginia.gov/regulations/public-comment-user-details/

By mail:
Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources
Attn: Policy Analyst and Regulatory Coordinator
P.O. Box 90778
Henrico, Virginia 23228

By email:  [email protected].

Comments must be in writing and accompanied by the name, address, and telephone number of the party offering them. Comments submitted by means other than through this online comment system must be received no later than 5 PM on August 6, 2021.

In-person: Comments may be made during the August 19, 2021, Committee and Board meeting.

If the proposed regulation is adopted by the Board in August, then the regulation will become effective on October 1, 2021

Currently, the coyote calling contests cost Virginia taxpayers nothing, help keep the growing population of these predators in check, and generate hundreds of thousands of dollars into the local economy.

The proposal to ban the hunts would shift the cost and burden of predator management but it offers no alternative to the contests and makes no allowance for funding should an alternative arise.

Over the next 45 days, Hunter Nation will be working to inform, mobilize and activate our grassroots army to stand up against the anti-hunting forces and defeat this ban through any means necessary.

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