04/08/2026
Please take a moment to reach out to your local Representative and Senator's. The amendment of the Farm Bill threatens the tradition of hunting and training many dogs. Language like this has no place in a bill meant to help America's Agriculture and is an attack on something that has no negative impact. Feel free to use the following as a template to reach out to those that can help us.
I am writing to you today not just as a voter, but as a hunter, guide, a dog trainer and small business owner who deeply values the conservation and heritage protected by the Farm Bill. I was alarmed to learn that anti-hunting language from H.R. 5017 was recently slipped into this vital legislation.
Hunters have always been the primary funders of conservation in America. However, the language included in this amendment, under the guise of greyhound protection, is a "sneak attack" on houndsmen and dog trainers. It threatens to ban the use of sight hounds and could even be interpreted to prohibit the use of live birds or animals in training bird dogs and scent hounds.
The Farm Bill should support rural communities and conservationists, not cater to animal rights extremists who want to bypass public debate. Please stand up for the hunters in your district and vote to remove this anti-hunting language from the final version of the bill.
Maine, has a storied history of grouse hunting and woodcock hunting. The use of pen raised birds is a long standing practice and tradition. This amendment to the bill seriously threatens the ability for guides, dog trainers and hunters to utilize these amazing dogs as they were meant to be used. The use of these birds is not cruel and should not be compared to "saving greyhounds".
I am calling on you for your help in standing for what's is right. We can support the farm bill and provide the help they need without the detriment of another of Maine's traditions. This would affect all guides, hunters, dog trainers, dog trialers and ultimately would negatively affect the breeding and health of the breeds of dogs we use for hunting and competition.
Please if you have the time feel free to reach out and learn more about what it is we do if that would help you understand this tradition. Myself and countless other dog trainer's and guides would be elated to share our love of the sport and help the preservation of it.
**MPGA ACTION ALERT - HUNTING DOG LEGISLATION.***
Thanks to our partners at the (U.S.) Sportsmen’s Alliance, they have alerted us to a significant concern with the Farm Bill in the U.S. Congress.
The Farm Bill is one of the most important pieces of legislation to be considered by the US Congress. It contains funding and sets policy on items ranging from conservation programs valued by American sportsmen to SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance
Program) benefits that help feed low-income families.
Unfortunately, thanks to significant pressure from the animal rights lobby, the Farm Bill just approved by the House Committee on Agriculture also includes a hunting ban.
Committee Democrats teamed up with a handful of Republican legislators to amend the Farm Bill by inserting House Resolution 5017, the Greyhound Protection Act of 2025 – a bill that had no chance of advancing on its own. H.R. 5017 would ban certain types of hounds in hunting, as well as the use of “live lures” for training or field trials. While H.R. 5017 was completely portrayed by the sponsor and supporters as only focused on ending commercial greyhound racing, the language is much more broadly written and would ban the use of sight hounds in hunting. Additionally, the language included in H.R. 5017 could go so far to impact anyone that hunts with bird dogs or scent hounds by banning the
use of live animals in dog training. MPGA is concerned that this could include grouse and duck and bear dog training. Amendment supporters never told Committee members of the broader impacts of the bill.
Animal rights extremists, with the help of members of the House Agriculture Committee, inserted the controversial language into the Farm Bill by voice vote, despite concerns expressed by Committee Chairman GT Thompson, with no public debate or an opportunity for American hunters or houndsmen to be heard in the process. The extremists know the public is counting on passage of the Farm Bill, so they are hoping Congress will allow the anti-hunting language to remain in the bill rather than derail the
huge and vital legislation.
All is not final, however. The Farm Bill will now head to the House Rules Committee, before being voted on by the full House of Representatives. Should the hunt ban remain in the House-passed version of the Farm Bill, the US Senate will craft its own version of the Farm Bill. Sportsmen now have the opportunity to weigh in with their own US Senators to ask for help now that the sneak attack on hunters has been made public.
The Sportsmen’s Alliance is calling on its members, and all who hunt and field trial with dogs, to contact both their U.S. Senators and ask them to prevent the hunting ban from being included in the Senate version of the Farm Bill. See the full Sportsmen’s Alliance
alert here: https://sportsmensalliance.org/news/h-r-5017-alert-animal-rights-extremists- sneak-hunting-ban-into-farm-bill/
MPGA is encouraging all members who use dogs to hunt- from birds to bears- to send an email to members of Maine’s congressional delegation and encourage them to oppose this language (H.R. 5017) in both the House and Senate versions
of the Farm Bill! Contact our delegation by sending them a quick email at the links below!
Congressman Jared Golden: https://golden.house.gov/contact
Senator Angus King: https://www.king.senate.gov/contact
Senator Susan Collins: https://www.collins.senate.gov/contact/email-senator-collins
