Supreme Court decision a 'win' for Virginia dog hunters, says AG

Photo byUSDA NRCS Texas

Like the lower courts, Virginia’s Supreme Court sided with the State in a dog hunting lawsuit.

Three property owners, including a Dinwiddie farmer, the owner of a Chesterfield horse boarding business, and the operator of a recreational hunting operation in Halifax were suing the Department of Wildlife Resources over the Right to Retrieve law.

That law allows hunters to go onto private property unannounced and without permission to retrieve their hunting dogs.

In the lawsuit, the plaintiffs claimed they experienced “routine invasions” by dogs and hunters. They claimed hunting dogs chased, spooked, and killed their animals, and the situation also interfered with the operation of their businesses and resulted in lost clients. The property owners also claimed that the situation infringed on their privacy and threatened the safety of their family and clients.

The lawsuit stated that all their properties were posted with no trespassing signs. By allowing hunters to come onto their property anyway, the State takes from Virginians their right to decide who may enter their property, at what times, and under what conditions, they argued.

Their lawsuit sought to have the court issue a judgment deeming the law “an uncompensated physical taking of their property, ” and, then, they wanted "just compensation" to be determined.

Court documents show DWR argued that the law doesn’t take property or deprive any property rights. What it does is create an exception to criminal prosecution.

The trial court sided with DWR stating the law “only creates an exception to criminal trespass.” The court also agreed that the property owners didn’t make any claim warranting relief.

The Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court’s decision. And Thursday, the Supreme Court affirmed the previous decisions.

“The Court is of the opinion that there is no reversible error in the judgment of the Court of Appeals,” said the ruling from the Supreme Court of Virginia.

Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares issued a statement applauding the outcome.

“This is a huge win for Virginia’s hunting dog community. Virginia hunters treat their dogs as family, and there are fewer traditions more prized by rural Virginians than our hunting dogs. More than half of hunters in Virginia use hunting dogs, and fewer than 60 out of 6,000 hunting complaints involved trespass violations involving hunting dogs, he said.”

“The right to retrieve has existed without incident in Virginia law for over 100 years. George Washington himself is credited with being the father of the American foxhound, the original brace being a gift of the Marquis de Lafayette. Virginia’s right to retrieve is a sound reminder that nature, tradition and neighborliness remain qualities we still value as Virginians,” he added.

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