Landownership and hunting in general are an intertwined heritage and tradition. Landowners permitted and held hunts on their land and even hunted for food along with raising crops, livestock and poultry. Landowners conducted turkey shoots, archery competitions and even shooting contests, and gathered as friends and neighbors.

Landowners are wrongfully being accused of being anti-hunting, anti-hound/dog hunting, wanting to hoard all the deer for themselves, wanting to use our land for “commercial hunting,” wanting to end hunting, “come heres,” “city people,” and more. That is far from true. There are many issues that have arisen and caused landowners to speak up with calls to address them.

In actuality, landowners want to exercise their right to use and enjoy our deeded property or to hunt our respective properties in a peaceful and safe manner without the impedance or interference, or threat of interference or impedance, by trespassers, dogs/hounds or hound hunters. Landowners don’t want their livestock, poultry or companion animals maimed, chased or killed. Landowners don’t want stray hounds running at large without tags, collars or microchips, leaving no way of contacting the dogs’ owners.

In reality, some landowners lease their land to hound hunters and still hunters. Some of these landowners even allow clubhouses to be established and used on their land. Landowners also hunt and this includes hound hunting. Landowners are also Virginians, born and raised in rural communities and in areas that are known for hound/dog hunting.

Landowners want hunters to get their permission to hunt, retrieve and track game on their property. The responsible, ethical and respectful thing to do is to seek and get permission from landowners to retrieve hunting dogs/hounds from the landowner’s property, or to use them for field trials.

Still hunting has been practiced in Virginia and other states by Native Americans, colonists and landowners long before, during and after George Washington bred, raised and hunted with fox hounds. There are more landowners than hound hunters, and more still hunters than hound hunters. Hunting will exist, as it does in many states, without hound hunters.

The right to hunt on permitted property leased by hound hunters, hunt clubs or hunters in general, and their privilege to use hounds/dogs for hunting, does not supersede the right of any landowner to use or enjoy our deeded property or to hunt our respective properties in a peaceful and safe manner without the impedance or interference, or threat of interference or impedance, by trespassers, hunters, hunting dogs/hounds or hound hunters.

The basic responsibility and common courtesy of hunters is to seek and get permission from landowners to hunt, retrieve and track game on their property. The moral, responsible, ethical and respectful thing to do is to seek and get permission from landowners to retrieve hunting dogs/hounds from the landowner’s property.

Without landowners or landowner permission there would be no land to lease for hunting with or without dogs/hounds, or land to place or operate their clubs on, or hold field trials. It is time to get back to the basics of being good neighbors and seeking and getting landowner permission to come onto their property.

Raymond Carter Jr. is a resident and landowner in King William County.