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October 19, 2003
Racoon hunting addictive
By Associated Press
AURORA, Ky. -- Raccoon hunters say it's the love of dogs, the thrill of a hunt and the drive for cash that sends them into the woods night after night with headlamps attached to their heads chasing after raccoons.
They say it's more addictive than stimulants.
"It's worse than running around with women," said Todd Drake, 38, a poultry farmer who drove in from Monroe, N.C., to compete in the 2003 Professional Kennel Club's Super Stakes and World Championship at the Kenlake State Resort Park in western Kentucky.
The championship, which started at sundown Thursday and ends Oct. 25, is the top hunt for members of the Professional Kennel Club.
The overall winner for the world hunt gets $30,000. The top 2-year-old dog earns$17,500, and the best 1-year-old in the Super Stakes is awarded $12,000.
In all, 3,000 dogs of six different raccoon hunting breeds were expected to participate.
The event is estimated to pour $2.5 million to $5 million into the local economy from hunters paying for meals, gasoline and hotel rooms. They meet in Aurora, then disperse in woods covering parts of Kentucky, Tennessee and Illinois to hunt.
"It's a sport of love. You've got to like animals and you've got to like the outdoors. Not everyone likes trampling around in the dark," said Randy Booth, 49, of Springfield, Ill. "There are people who are multimillionaires or poor people who scraped the money together to get here and hope to make money for gas to get home."
Most participants from states bordering the Mississippi River or from the Eastern half of the country.
Sometimes, the competition gets ugly, as hunters question calls and accuse each other of cheating.
"You put that much money on the line and you're going to have disagreements," said dog owner Debbie Griffeth, 51, of Manchester, Ill.
But primarily it's a gentleman's sport that begins with hunters shaking hands. A judge rates the dog's performance as it traps a raccoon in a tree. The hunter must identify the sound of the dog's bark to earn points as part of the hunt.
The raccoon is not killed in the competition.
There's no cussing, alcohol or guns allowed, making it the ultimate family sport, said Rodney Ridenhour, 41, of New London, N.C.
"Where can you take your child these days with that kind of atmosphere?" Ridenhour said.
Competitive raccoon hunting dates to at least the 1940s, and is typically passed down from generation to generation.
The biggest threat to the future of the sport is urban sprawl, which limits places where competitors can hunt, said Steve Fielding, senior vice president of the Evansville, Ind.,-based Professional Kennel Club.
The championship's participants qualified in local competitions, and many said they prepared by venturing out into the woods night after night.
Racoon hunting addictive
By Associated Press
AURORA, Ky. -- Raccoon hunters say it's the love of dogs, the thrill of a hunt and the drive for cash that sends them into the woods night after night with headlamps attached to their heads chasing after raccoons.
They say it's more addictive than stimulants.
"It's worse than running around with women," said Todd Drake, 38, a poultry farmer who drove in from Monroe, N.C., to compete in the 2003 Professional Kennel Club's Super Stakes and World Championship at the Kenlake State Resort Park in western Kentucky.
The championship, which started at sundown Thursday and ends Oct. 25, is the top hunt for members of the Professional Kennel Club.
The overall winner for the world hunt gets $30,000. The top 2-year-old dog earns$17,500, and the best 1-year-old in the Super Stakes is awarded $12,000.
In all, 3,000 dogs of six different raccoon hunting breeds were expected to participate.
The event is estimated to pour $2.5 million to $5 million into the local economy from hunters paying for meals, gasoline and hotel rooms. They meet in Aurora, then disperse in woods covering parts of Kentucky, Tennessee and Illinois to hunt.
"It's a sport of love. You've got to like animals and you've got to like the outdoors. Not everyone likes trampling around in the dark," said Randy Booth, 49, of Springfield, Ill. "There are people who are multimillionaires or poor people who scraped the money together to get here and hope to make money for gas to get home."
Most participants from states bordering the Mississippi River or from the Eastern half of the country.
Sometimes, the competition gets ugly, as hunters question calls and accuse each other of cheating.
"You put that much money on the line and you're going to have disagreements," said dog owner Debbie Griffeth, 51, of Manchester, Ill.
But primarily it's a gentleman's sport that begins with hunters shaking hands. A judge rates the dog's performance as it traps a raccoon in a tree. The hunter must identify the sound of the dog's bark to earn points as part of the hunt.
The raccoon is not killed in the competition.
There's no cussing, alcohol or guns allowed, making it the ultimate family sport, said Rodney Ridenhour, 41, of New London, N.C.
"Where can you take your child these days with that kind of atmosphere?" Ridenhour said.
Competitive raccoon hunting dates to at least the 1940s, and is typically passed down from generation to generation.
The biggest threat to the future of the sport is urban sprawl, which limits places where competitors can hunt, said Steve Fielding, senior vice president of the Evansville, Ind.,-based Professional Kennel Club.
The championship's participants qualified in local competitions, and many said they prepared by venturing out into the woods night after night.
