Conservation groups are calling on AZ Game and Fish to ban the use of GPS collar dogs for hunting

Conservation groups are calling on the Arizona Game and Fish Commission to ban the use of dog packs to hunt big game.

In a multi-page petition to the commission, the Arizona Game and Fish Department’s five-member regulatory body, conservation groups say dog ​​packs are used to hunt big game such as mountain lions, bobcats and bears.

Russ McSpadden is a Southwest conservation advocate with the Center for Biological Diversity — the group that produced the report. He says the hunt is conducted with a pack of dogs equipped with GPS collars that allow the hunter to see their location even from miles away.

“And the hunter can track that hunt through their dogs and from a smart device like an iPhone or an Android device, and you can track up to 20 dogs,” he said.

McSpadden said the hunter drove or walked to the spot where the dogs stopped, where they found the animal trapped in a tree and shot it. He estimates that 70% of mountain lion killings each year are due to pack hunting. His group’s petition argues that the practice violates the principles of fair hunting and Arizona laws that prohibit the use of certain types of technology in hunting.

McSpadden says the practice also threatens endangered species. Their report includes a 2011 photo of an ocelot hiding in a tree where it was chased by a hunting pack and says the same animal was hunted several times throughout its life.

“Dogs don’t differentiate between a bobcat and an ocelot or a mountain lion and a jaguar. “That’s why dog ​​packs in the Southwest have hunted, harassed and tree hunted at least four jaguars over the years, including the famous jaguar El Jefe,” he said.

Data from Arizona Game and Fish shows that between 2020 and 2023, 748 mountain lions and 323 bears were reportedly killed by hunters with packs of dogs.

McSpadden’s group is calling on Arizona Game and Fish to ban the practice entirely for big game like bears and mountain lions, arguing that Arizona could lead the way for other states to follow. Killing mountain lions for sport hunting is already illegal in California, and dog hunting in packs is sometimes banned in other states.

Michael Colaianni, public affairs director for Arizona Game and Fish, said the department received the petition but needed time to review it.