A renewed attempt to strengthen Alabama’s dog deer hunting regulations drew fierce debate Wednesday at a Joint Committee on Administrative Rule Review.

For decades, dog-assisted deer hunting has been a polarizing issue in Alabama. While officials have said conditions have improved over recent years, complaints persist about hunting dogs crossing into private lands, disrupting hunts and infringing on property owners’ rights.

“It’s a much better place now than we have been in the whole 30-plus years of my career,” said Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Commissioner Chris Blankenship. “But there are still problems of dogs being let off of adjacent property or public land that run across their property and disrupt their hunts.”

To confront the issue, the Conservation

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