We’re going to court! Animal Justice has filed a lawsuit against the Ontario government over its decision to issue three penned dog hunting licences that appear to allow penned dog hunting facilities to operate in violation of the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act.
In the lawsuit, Animal Justice is asking the Court to void three licences which appear to allow facility owners to release English foxhounds, American foxhounds, coonhounds, bloodhounds or harriers in pens in which red foxes are used as bait, allowing dogs of these breeds to terrorize foxes as they track and chase them for “training” as well as in competitions for prizes.
Regulations under the Act prohibit using these larger breeds of dogs in penned hunting contests (or “trials”) where red foxes are bait unless the facility meets size requirements, which these three facilities do not meet.
A Brutal Bloodsport
In penned hunting facilities, dogs regularly catch captive wild animals, injuring them, mauling them, and even killing them. Ontario is the only jurisdiction in Canada that allows facilities to keep wild animals, including coyotes, foxes, and hares, in fenced areas to be used to “train” hunting dogs. Because of the cruelty involved, the archaic practice is also banned in most US states.
In public, participants claim the facilities are used only to “train” dogs, and that captive wildlife are safe from injury. But a 2023 Animal Justice investigation uncovered the dark reality—dogs regularly injure, maim, and maul terrified wild animals who have no way to escape. The shocking investigation shows terrified animals running for their lives as they are hunted by packs of dogs, as well as hunters admitting that dogs frequently chase and maul live animals in enclosures, and that pen owners have to bring in new coyotes to restock the pens, because dogs catch them throughout the year. It also shows private Facebook groups where hunters shared disturbing photos and videos of dog hunts, including a man smiling at the camera while standing on a coyote’s head with a fence in the background and videos of hunters encouraging dogs to maul dying coyotes.
Animals kept captive and used as bait at these facilities are at risk of some of the most horrific suffering imaginable. Having more space to escape and cover to hide in pens helps increase the chances that these animals will be able to get away from larger and faster dogs trained to chase and hunt them.
Lack of Oversight in Penned Hunting Facilities
When Ontario bowed to hunting extremists and reversed a previous decision of the Mike Harris government to phase out this cruel bloodsport in the 1990s, the government justified the move by pointing to “strict standards” that would be enforced to protect animals. Yet these three licences appear to allow the use of prohibited dogs to hunt red foxes in pens in contests contrary to those regulations.
Materials received by Animal Justice through a Freedom of Information request also suggest that no penned hunting facilities in the province have even been inspected during the last approximately two years.
With so few laws to protect animals used for penned dog hunting in Ontario, the least the government can do is uphold and enforce them. Ultimately, this cruel practice should be banned once and for all just as it is throughout the rest of Canada. Please take a moment to ask Ontario to ban penned dog hunting for good!
