Update: Good news! This bill did not complete the legislative process prior to adjournment.
Bill Description: If passed, this bill would allow predator control trappers to trap bobcats, coyotes, and cougars and then sell them for the practice of hounding, “hound-running” or hound “penning.” In so doing, the bill would water down existing law, which requires individuals in certain counties to register in order to possess certain dangerous wild animals. If this bill passes, these individuals would no longer be required to register these dangerous animals with local animal control, to maintain liability insurance for having these dangerous animals, to notify local animal control if the animals are sold or die, or to reimburse taxpayers for the costs of re-capturing the animals if the animals escape.
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This legislation poses a public health and safety risk that simply is unacceptable. Wildlife agency officials have expressed concerns that allowing coyotes to be trapped and sold could increase the risk of spreading canine distemper and rabies. The issue of wildlife disease transmission is of increasing concern and this bill takes Texas in the wrong direction. Furthermore, the current law does not prohibit the keeping of a dangerous wild animal but merely requires that the animal be registered with the local animal control authority. There is no reason why predator control trappers should be exempt from registering their dangerous wild animals with their local animal control authority just like everyone else who possesses a dangerous wild animal. The purpose of registering dangerous wild animals is to allow citizens to know who is keeping dangerous wild animals and where they are located so that the public can protect itself from these animals. Citizens and public safety officials have the right to know who is keeping bobcats, coyotes, and cougars, no matter who that person may be or what his occupation is. And shifting the costs of keeping these animals onto the taxpayers’ shoulders is unfair and short-sighted. The exemption from having liability insurance is particularly troubling in this regard. Finally, this bill would allow the chasing of coyotes, bobcats, and cougars in the gruesome practice of hounding, “penning,” or “hound-running.” “Hound-running” involves training hunting hounds on live wildlife in enclosed pens. The wildlife are frequently maimed and killed in the process. This is blatantly cruel and should be voted down.