On March 24, the Victorian Government published a gazette enabling the use of both the black and tan coonhound and the bluetick coonhound for the 2025 hound hunting season.
This resulted from years of advocacy from the Australian Deer Association, the Victorian Hound Hunters and, recently, Jeff Bourman, MP of the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party. While the advocacy work surrounding this issue can be dated back years it gained traction, ironically, after the most recent regulatory review in 2024.
This addition to the hound breeds comes as a positive gesture by the government, hopefully signalling a willingness to listen and engage on broader outdoor recreation issues and niche ones related to recreational deer hunting.
Because the change occurs outside of the regulatory review, the government can amend the regulations via a government gazette to provide a temporary solution.
A government gazette is a government publication that notifies the public of its activities or decisions. In this case, section 86 of the Wildlife Act 1975 grants the Minister (for Outdoor Recreation & Environment) the ability to modify conditions for the hound hunting season as set out in the Wildlife (Game) Regulations 2024. Hunters will be familiar with this as this is how the Victorian government modifies the annual duck season settings. Whilst far from perfect, it should provide an adequate stopgap for the 2025 season before the regulations are amended permanently later on in 2025.
Consequently, once successfully assessed, the black and tan and bluetick hounds can be used legally in the same manner as a beagle, bloodhound or harrier for 2025 without requiring changes to the regulations. Like the bloodhound, the new hounds will also have to not exceed a height of 69cm measured at their withers.
The government plans to revisit the regulations as the second part of its 2024 regulatory review, with the finalisation of its approach to regulating duck and quail hunting in Victoria expected later in 2025. This provides an opportunity for the hounds to be listed there for the length of the regulations. As it stands now, the s86 modification only lasts until the end of 2025.
The last time a hound breed was added to or re-added to the regulations was in 2012, after the ADA successfully advocated having harriers included in the approved list after they had been removed in 2004.
Around 5,000 hunters hold a hound hunting entitlement, making up approximately 10% of deer hunters. Of the 5,000, around 25% (1,250) regularly hunt using hounds and harvested around 13,600 sambar in 2023, contributing around 12.7% of the annual sambar harvest (106,500).
“This addition to the hound breeds comes as a positive gesture by the government.“
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