Orange County Animal Services is preparing for hunting season by promoting awareness of the legal requirements and responsibilities of using dogs to hunt deer.

Deer season opens on Saturday, November 14, and ends on January 1. At the direction of the Board of Orange County Commissioners, county staff hopes to mitigate health and safety concerns through public outreach.

According to the county, hunting with dogs is only lawful in northern Orange County – specifically, the portion of the county north of Interstate 85. Session laws for Orange County prohibit hunting on private property without written permission.

Within county limits, written permission must be obtained to hunt on someone’s private property whether or not private property is posted as “No hunting.”  This differs from other counties in North Carolina, which requires written permission only when hunting on posted property. All written permission must be signed within the last 12 months.

Dogs used for hunting are subject to Orange County’s Animal Control Ordinances and must be currently vaccinated against rabies and wear their current vaccination tag. Hunters may not go onto other properties to retrieve dogs, or game, without the permission of the property owner.

According to Orange County’s website, in recent years, The Board of County Commissioners has pursued getting the North Carolina legislature “to prohibit the hunting of deer with dogs in Orange County.” It is unclear whether the board will continue with these efforts in the future.

For more information about deer hunting with dogs in Orange County, click here.

More information, including a sample written permission form, is also provided by the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission here.

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