Hunting Certificate (HC):
Awarded only to dogs whose owners
are AWTA members in good standing during the entire period
of qualifying work. Dogs can earn a hunting certificate (HC)
for hunting above ground and/or drawing quarry from the earth.
Certificates will be awarded to either a specific quarry or
multiple quarry. This certificate is issued to dogs regularly
used for hunting above ground such quarry as rabbits, squirrels,
opossums, rats, raccoons, muskrats, mongoose, feral pigs or
for flushing and/or retrieving upland birds, for dogs used
to draw quarry (woodchuck, fox, raccoon, badger, opossum, etc.)
at the end of a dig in connection with earthwork and for working
quarry below ground that do not qualify for a WC such as rabbits,
armadillos, etc. The dog must search for and locate the game.
Draw dogs must draw the quarry from an opened earth at the
end of a dig bringing the quarry into the open. The game must
be killed by the dog or taken using another legal hunting method.
A dog must spend a full season hunting before a certificate
is issued. A season is whatever time is allowed by state hunting
regulations when the species is controlled by state game laws
or one full year if the species is not controlled by game laws.
An AWTA member or combination of members must have witnessed
the dog hunting on at least six occasions and attest that it
is used regularly for hunting.
An HC application which includes
a written, detailed report describing your dachshund’s
or terrier’s hunting experience,bearing the signatures
of the owner(s) who hunted the dog and at least one witness,
along with a five dollar ($5.00) filing fee must be sent to
the Hunting and Working Certificate Secretary. The H&WC
Secretary will send a copy of the report to each of the Trustees
for their review and approval. A unanimous approval is required
to award the Hunting Certificate. Reasons(s) for disapproval
will be sent to the person requesting the evaluation. When
more than one person owns a dog, the only name(s) that will
appear on the hunting certificate are those of the owner(s)
who actually hunted with the dog.
