Farmer Jim Medeiros holds one of his chickens during an interview at his farm Wednesday, April 20, 2022, in Wilsons, Va. Medeiros owns a 143-acre dairy and poultry farm and has had issues with hunting dogs on his property killing chickens. – Soon after Jim Medeiros bought his 143-acre cattle and poultry farm in rural Virginia a decade ago, he and his wife were startled by the sounds of 20 hunting dogs barking and howling as they circled their house and chased their chickens.
After years of putting up with baying dogs and dead chickens, Medeiros and several other property owners are suing the state over its “right to retrieve” law, arguing that allowing hunters to go on their property without permission amounts to an uncompensated taking of their land and violates the state and federal constitutions. But Virginia's law says hunters are allowed to retrieve dogs even when the property owner has specifically denied access.
Virginia's law prohibits hunters from carrying guns or bows and arrows while retrieving their dogs from private property. It also says hunters must identify themselves when asked by the landowner. If they refuse, they can be charged with a misdemeanor.The Virginia property owners are suing the Department of Wildlife Resources, which enforces the law. They are represented by the Pacific Legal Foundation, a conservative legal organization that won a major property rights case at the U.S.
“When Jim has to let deer dogs and deer dog hunters enter his property, and he's not allowed to tell them to stay away, and when they're killing his livestock and disrupting his operations, that's a taking of a valuable property interest," Woislaw said.