By Erin Wiltgen

chh@heraldsun.com; 419-6654

HILLSBOROUGH -- A countywide ban on hunting deer with dogs, approved by the Orange County Board of County Commissioners, could become law for the 2010 hunting season, if the North Carolina General Assembly passes a measure in coming weeks.

In a unanimous decision, the commissioners voted to put a stop to a practice that has caused rural landowners -- many of them hunters themselves -- to speak out, citing trespassing and safety issues in northern Orange County.

"The practice of hunting deer with dogs is an old one and started at a time when there were many more large tracts of land in rural Orange County," said County Commissioner Steve Yuhasz. "I think it is a reflection of the changing land patterns in rural Orange County that brought it to a point that we as commissioners were getting a greater number of complaints each year."

Dogging deer, as it is sometimes called, involves a group of hunters setting a pack of dogs loose to chase after the deer. The hunters then drive to places along the road, ready to shoot, where the deer will burst from the woods.

While many hunters practice safer versions of dog deer hunting and respect private property, some do not.

"The commissioners said it's too bad that a few have destroyed the practice for those who enjoy it," said Susan Walser of Orange County Voice, a rural citizen's activist group that supported the ban.

Prohibitions already existed on hunting deer with dogs south of I-85. Despite a general confidence among landowners that the prohibition would be expanded north to the borders with Caswell and Person counties, many were taken aback by the fervor of the commissioners in their decision at their Jan. 21 meeting.

"A unanimous vote speaks to the strength of the collective landowner effort," said Peter Rourk, landowner, in an e-mail.

Many rural residents said they think the ban will create a safer, more peaceful community. And hunters said the ban will decrease hostilities between hunters of all types and landowners.

"Hopefully what it will do is reduce the incidences of conflict between hunters or basically eliminate the conflict between dog hunters and residents," Graf said. "It should improve the quality of life for the residents."

The ban, which will go into effect for the 2010 hunting season should the General Assembly approve it next month, will level Orange County with some surrounding counties that already outlawed dog deer hunting. The practice is banned in Chatham, Durham and Alamance counties, making Orange County a destination for out-of-county hunters as well as local ones. Caswell County still allows the use of dogs in deer hunts.

"The decision that the County Commissioners made helps put Orange County on the same footing as the surrounding counties," Graf said. "It was the right time to do it."