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LITTLE ROCK - A ban on using dogs for deer hunting is back in effect in northern and eastern Arkansas.
Thursday morning, Nov. 30, the Arkansas Supreme Court held that a recent injunction preventing the enforcement of a new regulation outlawing the use of dogs for deer hunting has been "stayed." The move clears the way for the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission to again enforce the regulations that prohibit the use of dogs in most of north and east Arkansas.
"We’ll begin enforcement immediately," said Col. Loren Hitchcock, chief enforcement officer of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission. "Some hunters were quick to begin running their dogs when the recent injunction was granted; they’ll need to be just as quick to stop. Our regulation is in effect and we will issue citations to violators," Hitchcock added.
The announcement comes in wake of a ruling last week in Stone County Chancery/Circuit Court. Judge John Harkey instructed the agency to discontinue the enforcement of the regulation until other matters in the case could be considered. Thursday’s ruling places further arguments before the Supreme Court and stays any previous rulings by the lower court.
"The ruling is basically a stay of a stay," said James F. Goodhart, chief legal counsel for the Game and Fish Commission. "The court approved our request to review the actions taken by the court in Stone County as well as the basic issue of venue. We have maintained all along that this case belongs in Pulaski County, " he added.
The lawsuit stems from a group of hunters challenging the agency’s authority to pass the regulation.
Only parts of north and east Arkansas are covered by the deer dog regulation. Arkansas’s modern gun deer season for most of the areas effected by the regulation closes Sunday, Dec. 3, but two zones remain open through the middle of December. The regulation will also be in effect during a short three-day hunt scheduled after Christmas.
The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission encourages hunters to carefully study its annual regulations guide prior to hunting. The publication is available at all license dealers across the state, via telephone at (800) 364-4263 or on the agency web page at www.agfc.com.
Uploaded: 12/11/2000
Uploaded: 12/11/2000