In Virginia, private property owners are suing the state Department of Wildlife Resources over a regulation that allows hunters to enter their land to retrieve their dogs. According to Virginia Code, Code 18.2-136, popularly known as the “Right to Retrieve,” authorizes hunters to follow their dogs onto “prohibited grounds.” Because hunters are not obligated to provide notice, no direct approval from the landowner is necessary. As a result, landowners contend that the trespassing constitutes an “uncompensated seizure of their land” and is, therefore, a violation of both the state and federal constitutions.

According to The Virginia Mercury, the case was filed on April 12 in Henrico County Circuit Court. The legislation only enables hunters to enter private land during deer season, with the additional restriction that no weapons or guns be carried. Pacific Legal alleges that hunters are abusing the law by entering and hunting on private land year-round under the guise of other game seasons.

“The government cannot grant hunters access that violates property rights and disrupts the use of it without paying just compensation for the value of the property it has taken in this manner – even if that access is in the form of retrieving a hunting dog,” said Pacific Legal Foundation attorney Daniel Woislaw in a statement.

Several other states have comparable regulations with clearly defined borders, such as prohibiting hunters from entering private land if a “no trespassing” sign is up. However, Virginia Code 3.2-6538 permits hunting hounds to run “at large,” allowing hunters to enter private land even after the owner has forbidden entrance.

The statute was enacted in 1938, and various lawsuits have been filed to overturn it since then.

According to the present case, the legislation “takes the plaintiffs’ private property without compensation for public use.” Pacific Legal highlighted the 2021 Cedar Point Nursery v. Hassid case, in which such practices were found to be an infringement of the Fifth Amendment’s rights. The Department of Wildlife Resources refuses to comment on the ongoing legal proceedings. Fox News contacted Medeiros but did not receive a response.