Farm Bill and Potential Ban on Dog Training!

[Tilzbow]

Already posted on another forum but worth the effort to post here since this is where the bird dog lovers are. Please read and take the time to contact your congressional representatives.

Dear NAVHDA Members,



We want to bring an important legislative matter to your attention and provide an update on where things stand.



Just one month ago, the House Agriculture Committee approved an amendment to the 2026 Farm Bill that included H.R. 5017, the Greyhound Protection Act of 2025. While sponsors claimed it was about ending commercial greyhound racing, the bill's language was broadly written. It included a ban on "live lure training", which would actually also ban the use of live animals in all dog training, not just the training of greyhounds and other sighthounds. This raised serious concerns for our community, as it would have directly prohibited the live-bird work central to NAVHDA's training and testing programs.



NAVHDA has been in contact with partner organizations monitoring this issue, including the Sportsmen’s Alliance, which has been closely engaged in this fight. They report that an amendment to the Farm Bill has been drafted to remove the hunting dog-related language. While this is good news, the amendment has not yet been adopted, so there is still work to be done to prevent this crisis.



We are collaborating with the Sportsmen’s Alliance and other groups on three goals:



1. Ensuring the amendment protecting hunting and training with dogs is included by the House Rules Committee

2. Ensuring the anti-hunting language is not reinserted when the Farm Bill is voted on by the full US House of Representatives.

3. Ensuring the anti-hunting language never makes it into the Senate version of the Farm Bill.



We will continue to monitor the situation and keep members informed if anything changes.



If you would like to support The Sportsmen's Alliance and its ongoing work on behalf of hunters and dog trainers, membership starts at $35 per year:

sportsmensalliance.org/membership



If you ever wish to contact your own US Representative and US Senators :



• U.S. House Representative: house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative

• U.S. Senators: senate.gov/senators/senators-contact.htm

• Capitol Switchboard: (202)224-3121



Thank you for being engaged members. We will continue to keep you posted.

 

[Blowdowner]

Don't let them ban greyhound training either! Ban gambling! True the sport needs a complete overhaul but those speed beasts are amazing. And we'll need them when we come to realize wolves have gained too much ground....

 

[bayoublaster7527]

Absolutely, 100% not an accident. This is the underhanded, backdoor work of Wayne Pacelle, disgraced former Humane Society CEO and leader of Animal Wellness Action. It is possible that some well-intentioned legislators didn’t realize what this bill would do. But Pacelle and his anti-hunting allies knew exactly what they were doing. Anything they can do to hurt the hunting community. And just to connect the dots, Pacelle’s group Animal Wellness Action was the primary donor of funding and staff for Colorado’s Ballot Proposition 127: Mountain Lion Hunting Ban. Without his help, it never makes it on the ballot. He also frequently headlines anti-hunting events with Colorado First Gentleman Marlon Reis and folks from Center for Biological Diversity, Colorado Wild, and the other various anti-hunting groups here.