West Virginia: Leash Law Ordinance Returns for 2024 – Sportsmen's Alliance

Commissioner Puckett is not giving up on his leash law ordinance, but he is getting closer to making it acceptable to sportsmen. The Sportsmen’s Alliance is happy to see that the proposed ordinance does make an exemption for hunting dogs.  Unfortunately, the revised ordinance still does not exempt hunting dogs during training or field trials.  These are some of the important activities for sporting, hunting, and herding dogs when they are off-leash, and should be included.

At the October 2023 meeting, Commissioner Greg Puckett felt the revised ordinance sufficiently protected sporting and hunting dogs. As we all know, if laws are not specific and we rely on intent and interpretation, law-abiding citizens can be made into criminals even when the original sponsor did not intend this to happen.  We remain hopeful that Commissioner Puckett can understand how simple it would be to amend the leash law ordinance to protect sportsmen completely.

At the January 9 meeting, the leash law was placed on first reading, but there is still time to amend this ordinance to ensure sporting and hunting dogs are appropriately protected. The next meeting is scheduled to be held on Tuesday, January 23, at 3:30 p.m. We are expecting the Leash Law Ordinance to be on the agenda, but the agenda has not been posted as of yet.

In the meantime, if you live in Mercer County, please use our Take Action button to email the commissioners, urging them to amend the leash law ordinance to ensure full protection of sporting and hunting dogs and any dog working in service to its owner.

Don’t forget to share this alert with family, friends, and fellow sportsmen who live in Mercer County and ask them to do the same.

About the Sportsmen’s Alliance: The Sportsmen’s Alliance protects and defends America’s wildlife conservation programs and the pursuits – hunting, fishing and trapping – that generate the money to pay for them. Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation is responsible for public education, legal defense and research. Its mission is accomplished through several distinct programs coordinated to provide the most complete defense capability possible. Stay connected to Sportsmen’s Alliance: Online, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.