Like the lower courts, Virginia’s Supreme Court sided with the State in a dog hunting lawsuit.
Three property owners, including a Dinwiddie farmer, the owner of a Chesterfield horse boarding business, and the operator of a recreational hunting operation in Halifax were suing the Department of Wildlife Resources over the Right to Retrieve law.
That law allows hunters to go onto private property unannounced and without permission to retrieve their hunting dogs.
In the lawsuit, the plaintiffs claimed they experienced “routine invasions” by dogs and hunters. They claimed hunting dogs chased, spooked, and killed their animals, and the situation also interfered with the operation of their businesses and resulted in lost clients. The property owners also claimed that the situation infringed on their privacy and threatened the safety of their family and clients.
The lawsuit stated that all their properties were posted with no trespassing signs. By allowing hunters to come onto their property anyway, the State takes from Virginians their right to decide who may enter their property, at what times, and under what conditions, they argued.