04/08/2026
**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
