FWC finalizes ban on fox penning // Read the new rules
PENSACOLA BEACH — The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has finalized a ban on chasing foxes or coyotes with dogs in an enclosure, a practice known as a fox penning.
The rule was finalized at a commission meeting Wednesday in Pensacola Beach after being proposed June 23. The decision made permanent a temporary ban issued February.
Supporters of the ban called fox penning inhumane and against the competitive spirit of hunting. Hunters who opposed the ban argued it was a tradition.
Dogs still can be used to chase foxes and coyotes in the open, but no longer inside enclosures. Enclosures are defined as areas that "prevent the natural ingress or egress of a fox or coyote," according to the new rule.
Eighteen visitors spoke at Wednesday's meeting. They represented organizations ranging from Defenders of Wildlife to the National Foxhunters' Association, according to an FWC news release. Some speakers said prohibiting fox pens preserves "true sportsmanship," while others said legitimate fox hunters had been misrepresented.
"This is not about taking away hunting opportunities," FWC Chairman Rodney Barreto said in the release. "I'm a big believer in fair chase, and I have a list of places where hunters can still engage in those activities."
One of those places is Eglin Air Force Base, where a fox and coyote chase season runs from May 15 to Aug. 31.
The Humane Society of the United States released a statement applauding the ban on fox penning, calling it a "cruel practice." The society said dogs are judged in competitions on how relentlessly they pursue foxes and coyotes, which often get injured or even torn apart.
The society also said fox penning is far from traditional, having emerged in the early 1980s. The organization said there was a history of "chronic non-compliance" with fox pen permits, as well as a pattern of illegal fox and coyote sales.
The FWC began discussing the issue in September 2009, weeks after Santa Rosa County resident Mike Howington was found out of compliance with his permit because he possessed unauthorized coyotes; his enclosure's fence was too short to be approved for coyotes.
Howington's next-door neighbor, Christin Tank, observed chases in Howington's pen. She said at the time that dogs "mauled and ripped apart" a coyote. Tank and her brother, Jeremy Maines, documented what they saw and spoke out in an effort to ban fox penning.
The FWC voted in February to temporarily ban all fox penning. Commissioner Dwight Stephenson called it a "terrifying and cruel situation."
The FWC's staff met with fox pen owners before Wednesday's meeting to discuss what would be done with their foxes and coyotes. The animals can be owned as pets with a permit or be trapped and sold to other permit-holders. They also can be taken to wildlife rehabilitation facilities or be humanely euthanized.
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