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Fox Pen Ban Applauded By Humane Society; Last Was In Walnut Hill
December 21, 2010
Florida’s move to permanently ban all fox pens — the last of which was in Walnut Hill – was named by The Humane Society of the United States as one of their Top Ten State Victories of 2010.
The rule approved by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission in September permanently prohibited the chasing of foxes and coyotes with dogs within an enclosure in Florida. The FWC had considered the issue for more than a year, and the practice was temporarily prohibited in February. At that time, the FWC ordered the Shady Oaks Fox Pen at 4000 South Highway 99 in Walnut Hill to cease any operations. The FWC did not accuse Shady Oaks — the last legal fox pen in Florida –or its owners of any wrongdoing.
Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of The Humane Society of the United States, said his organization campaigned for years to ban the fox pens. He named the FWC’s actions on of the “10 most important policy gamins of the year at the state level”. The fox pen ban was one of two Florida actions making the top ten list — the group also applauded the ban on import, breeding, sale and possession of many large constricting snakes.
There were as many as six state permitted fox pens in Florida in 2009, but all had closed by the end of the year except for the approximately 200 acre Shady Oaks Fox Pen in Walnut Hill. At one time, there were about 50 fox and coyote pens from the Panhandle to Central Florida.
In a prepared statement, The Humane Society of the United States praised the unanimous decision by the FWC banning what the group termed a “cruel practice”.
“We thank Chairman Rodney Barreto and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commissioners for their decisive leadership and thorough work to end the inherently cruel practice of fox penning that has no place in the 21st century,” said Jennifer Hobgood, Florida state director for The Humane Society of the United States.
“This is not about taking away hunting opportunities,” said FWC Chairman Rodney Barreto. “I’m a big believer in fair chase, and I have a list of places where hunters can still engage in those activities.”
“Coyotes and certain other nonprotected furbearers can still be taken year-round using several methods, including dogs,” Maj. Curtis Brown, head of the FWC’s Captive Wildlife and Investigations Section, said. “This can occur on open private lands and in specific wildlife management areas.”
Public input on the recommendation to permanently prohibit the enclosures varied from stating that “the prohibition preserves the true sportsmanship that hunting is all about” to saying that “legitimate fox and coyote hunters have been misrepresented on the issue”.
“This is not a referendum on hunting – we are a pro-hunting commission,” FWC Commissioner Brian Yablonski said Wednesday. “It is a question of fair chase and protecting the essence of hunting.”
Deliberations over this issue began last September, when Commissioners directed the agency’s law enforcement staff to review the permitting process and research the history and numbers of fox/coyote enclosures in the state.
At the February meeting, commissioners agreed to temporarily prohibit the practice. FWC staff was directed to work with stakeholders to address certain issues of concern regarding the enclosures and to draft proposed rules for the Commission’s consideration.
Pictured: A fence surrounds the former Shady Oaks Fox Pen on South Highway 99 near Walnut Hill. NorthEscambia.com file photos, click to enlarge.
Comments
20 Responses to “Fox Pen Ban Applauded By Humane Society; Last Was In Walnut Hill”
SO
I take it you are a hear say kind of person. Here is some good hear say The Insurance Institue for Highway Safety reports that there are more than 1.5 million crashes annually in the U.S. involving deer alone, costing an estimated $1.1 billion in vehicle damage.In 2007 there was over 10,000 injuries and 200 deaths. Just thought I would put that in . How many of the crashes , injuries ,and deaths do you think were in Florida. The hunters help keep the wildlife numbers under control. Maybe Florida needs to keep the hunters in the state. SO I know this is a blog about the fox pen , but most fox hunters are deer hunters too
18 Responses to “Fox Pen Ban ” Out of the other 14 people that wrote their comments on this subject. Have any of you every been to a fox pen.Have you ever been inside one , spoke to someone that has ,or are you just going on hear say. All that the FWC and Humane Society did is force the Florida fox hunter to go into ALABAMA . So out of state hunting license $ 275 per hunter per year will go to the GREAT STATE OF ALABAMA .Also the gas ,food ,and other items that the BIG BAD FOX HUNTERS will buy is most likely going to be bought in Alabama too.Keep forcing the Florida hunter in to Alabama . I bet they are loving it !!!!!!!!
Hunting an animal in its environment is normal and the humane method, for food, but to pen them and give them no chance is not sportsmanship it is
cruelty. Hogs are penned and shot, deer are penned and shot, not to mention many other animals, man makes a fortune selling the right for another to enter a totally fenced reserve and kiil, wheres the sport in that? You would think that Man, supposedly superior over animal, would have the pride in a “fair hunt” not just to take trophys but to use the meat………… Sad, what has Man come to.
If things aren’t bad enough as it is these days. Lets have another family lose their livelyhood. Are they going to be compensated for their lose of business by the County or Government? I love animals, but they are just that, animals, they are not above any human life. That is why our GOD breathed life into us and we have a soul, animals were created but no soul.
C, and Oldmarine have the right attitude, They haven’t outlawed fox hunting nor have they outlawed fox breeding (although they did get snake breeding outlawed, and that still seems suspicious to me as a lot of snake breeders i knew in Florida did it for the anti-venom) its just penned hunting that they are getting shut down and really why is that a problem? Richard also raises an interesting question too.
I meant “Animals be torn apart by another one.” not dogs.
From this bleeding heart.
Shame on all you people who claim your religious and go to church on Sunday,
and then go out and scare an animal to death and claim it’s the only way to feed
your family, hunt, or be Free Men.
Do you really think this kind of hunting is what GOD had in mind?
Some of you like to mention Daniel Boone, do you think he would have
approved of watching dogs be torn apart by another animal, or penning one
up so he could chase it down where he couldn’t lose?
Funny I though Daniel Boone was a hero and a FAIR MAN.
I know MY GOD IS~
Nobody is taking hunting and fishing away. This is not a bleeding hearts issue. This is an animal cruelty issue. Nobody said not to eat beef or anything else. I didn’t read any comments that suggested anything of the sort. It’s so ironic that people are talking about the taking of freedom when they are condoning putting an animal in a pen and scaring it to death. That’s not wild life. That’s not nature.
Why is it if a small group says its cruel to eat beef, pork, fish or any thing that GOD put on earth for us to eat, they get there way, WHAT HAPPEND TO THE MAJORITY RULES ????, It probley will be outlawed to say Hi or Hello to ppl, we have to controll the wildlife to keep them from getting over populated and dying from starvation, THATS ALL WILD LIFE !!!!!!!!!!, Taking Americans freedoms away is a good way to start a war, some time its best not to mess with the sleeping dog, the bleeding hearts need to live on a working farm and work and deal with live stock and wildlife for a year and they would know that butter comes from milk and milk comes from cows, Ham, bacon and sausage come from hogs,
THATS THE CIRCLE OF LIFE ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! , and no i have not used a fox pen,
MAY GOD BLESS YOU
i totally agree w/ C and oldmarine..lets not forget the cruel practice of cockfighting….guess ill never understand how “civilized” people can find pleasure and sport in torturing animals…i have no problem with ethical/responsible hunting for food or population control for those who are into it..
I hunt ethically and humanly with precision and a large Rifle for instant dispatch
This is as Cruel and Barbaric as Dog fighting , must be terrorising to run so hard with no way to escape
Animal lovers are not “sad folks”. It’s just not sportsmen-like to trap something and torture it. That’s not a real-life hunting scenario. In the wild, at least it’s fair. The animals have the chance to get away. While I do love animals, I am not opposed to people hunting for food. Just do it the right way. It’s more of a challenge and an accomplishment if you don’t cheat the animals involved. There’s no sport in being cruel.
There must have been a good reason in the beginning to chase the foxes into an enclosure. Since I have no idea why, what is the deal with the foxes anyway? What to they get into? The only thing I can think of is chicken coops. Coyotes? What harm to they do? If it is a question of ruining farm crops like the deer, then shoot them, too. It’s one thing to be an animal lover, and another to let the animals ruin everything around.
Jay man you’re probably right about the hunting and fishing .This is not the same country I grew up in.People trying to control other people is what starts wars.You animal lovers are sad folks .
Well I guess all of Yall bleeding hearts are happy now , is closing hunting and fishing next.
I am glad they got rid of the fox cages. It is cruel and inhumane. This is wonderful news!
Chasing(NOT KILLING) of fox and coyote with dogs within an enclosure is cruel practice. FWC Chairman Rodney Barreto. “I’m a big believer in fair chase” . FWC Commissioner Brian Yablonski “It is a question of fair chase”. Is it the fox and coyote they are worried about ,or is it the use of DOGS. No one is trying to close down the HIGH FENCE deer hunting (killing) enclosure in the state nor the nation. So Mr. Rodney Barreto , Mr. Brain Yablonski , and the rest of the FWC is it the FENCE or the DOG . Us dog hunters are custom to the FWC taking land from us. If it is the FENCE how about banning all ENCLOSURE hunting.
Just wondering what happened to the coyotes and foxes that were kept in these enclosures???
Yeah!!
Now that we left wing freedom takers have won a victory, we must set our sights and energy on a new freedom to take away from our fellow Americans. I propose we go after the “Deer Pens” now. Let’s shut down those outfitters that put up fences and raise deer like cattle for rich fat cats to come shoot. Then we can set our sights on WMAs and outlaw killing on state and federal property. Soon we can all set around a campfire with a new found overpopulated wildlife friends who are dying of disease and starvation and sing Cum-ba-ya!!!!
Shoot -me -know!!!!