Arizona Officials Back Bill to Undermine Wildlife Protections, Silence Public Input
For Immediate Release, February 27, 2025
Contact:
Russ McSpadden, Center for Biological Diversity
Sandy Bahr, Sierra Club Grand Canyon Chapter
Chris Smith, WildEarth Guardians
Erin Hunt, Lobos of the Southwest
Michelle Lute, Wildlife for All
Josh Rosenau, Mountain Lion Foundation
PHOENIX— The Arizona Game and Fish Department and the Game and Fish Commission are backing a bill to strip the state’s wildlife agency of its power to regulate the use of dog packs for hunting mountain lions, bears and other animals. The bill would also subvert state law by gutting the public’s right to petition on wildlife policy and hound hunting, while circumventing public hearings and internal reviews.
Conservation groups recently petitioned the commission to ban using dog packs in Arizona, citing serious risks to wildlife, public safety and ethical hunting practices. The petitions say releasing packs of hunting dogs on public lands threatens endangered animals including ocelots and jaguars, increases the risk of conflicts with people, violates the principle of fair chase and leads to inhumane treatment of wildlife and dogs.
“By backing this bill, Arizona’s top wildlife officials are subverting the public’s right under the state constitution to petition for rulemaking on dog pack hunting,” said Russ McSpadden, a Southwest conservation advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity. “Ethical gymnastics like this raise grave doubts about the commission’s commitment to endangered species protection and its capacity to review our pending petitions.”
On Feb. 10, state Rep. Lupe Diaz (R-Benson) said in a committee hearing that he helped write House Bill 2552 to counter recent petitions asking the commission to ban hounding. At the same hearing Arizona Game and Fish Commissioner James Goughnour said “the Commission supports this bill.” The Arizona Game and Fish Department’s Ed Sanchez and David Fernandez signed in as supporters of the bill.
The Game and Fish Commission, which oversees the Game and Fish Department, is responsible for setting regulations related to hunting, fishing and wildlife conservation, ensuring decisions are based on scientific principles and public input. Arizona’s constitution guarantees the public’s right to petition the government.
“Efforts by Arizona legislators to strip the commission’s ability to respond to public concerns, scientific evidence and ethical considerations concerning dog-pack hunting are in blatant violation of the public trust,” said Sandy Bahr, director for Sierra Club Grand Canyon (Arizona) Chapter. “It’s almost unbelievable that the Arizona Game and Fish Department and commissioners would support this wildly undemocratic attack on the American model of wildlife management, which the department and commission claim to uphold.”
Hound hunting poses a clear and documented threat to federally protected jaguars and ocelots in the Southwest, with multiple recorded incidents of hounds chasing and treeing these endangered cats in Arizona. At least five jaguars — Macho B, Border King, El Jefe, Sombra and an unnamed jaguar — have been pursued by hounds in the region since 1996, with Sombra abandoning his preferred habitat because of the presence of packs made up of as many as 30 dogs.
Similarly, packs of hunting dogs have chased or treed endangered ocelots more than a dozen times in Arizona since 2011. The repeated pursuit by hounds disrupts natural behaviors, causes physical stress and forces these rare cats from their essential habitats, threatening their survival and broader species recovery efforts.
“The Game and Fish Department’s job is to steward Arizona’s wildlife, not to rubber-stamp political schemes that benefit a small group of trophy hunters,” said Chris Smith, wildlife program director at WildEarth Guardians. “By supporting H.B. 2552, the department is subverting its own authority and facilitating the continued harassment of endangered jaguars and ocelots.”
Arizona allows packs of dogs to chase and attack mountain lions, bears, coati and bobcats for sport. According to Arizona Game and Fish data, 748 mountain lions and 323 bears were reported killed by hunters using packs of dogs between 2020 and 2023. A 2020 study estimated that the state’s entire mountain lion population was between 1,166 and 1,715.
“Arizona’s wildlife belongs to all of us, not just a handful of special interests,” said Erin Hunt, managing director at Lobos of the Southwest. “If passed, H.B. 2552 would elevate private interests over science and democratic process and put endangered species at risk.”
Hound hunting relies on GPS-collared dogs, remotely tracked via smart devices, to pursue wildlife, violating fair chase principles and state restrictions on electronic hunting. Additionally, uncontrolled hounds pose risks to public safety, sometimes attacking people on public lands.
“This isn’t just about hound hunting,” said Michelle Lute, director of Wildlife for All. “It’s about whether Arizona’s wildlife policies in regard to hounding will be shaped by science and public participation or dictated by lawmakers doing the bidding of trophy hunters behind closed doors. If legislators can strip the commission’s authority at will, simply to derail a petition from the public from even being heard, then no wildlife policy is safe from political interference.”
Arizona hunters have raised concerns about hound hunting, questioning its fairness and ethics. Many argue that hounds give an unfair advantage, undermining the principle of fair chase.
As one long-time hunter said in the White Mountain Independent, “The dogs are an unfair advantage. Why should we spend $25 on a tag when the animals are all slaughtered the first weekend?”
“Public input is not a nuisance — it’s a fundamental right,” said Josh Rosenau, director of policy and advocacy at the Mountain Lion Foundation. “The Game and Fish Commission has the time and expertise to make thoughtful changes to hunting rules, including when, where or how hounds are used by hunters. By stripping the agency of that power before they even respond to a citizen petition, they’re taking away Arizonans’ voice in managing the wildlife that belong to everyone. This is a blatant power grab, and it must be stopped.”
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Take Action for Arizona Wildlife!
To learn more about these important issues, join the Center for Biological Diversity, the Mountain Lion Foundation, and Wildlife for All for a timely webinar on the practice of hunting mammals with packs of dogs on Tuesday, March 4, 2025 at 5:30 pm MST. Learn more and register here.
