Wildlife advocates are pushing North Carolina officials to ban places where people can use their dogs to track foxes and coyotes in a staged hunt.
    
North Carolina wildlife activist John Edwards says hunt pens are inhumane. He has started a petition drive to draw attention to controlled hunting preserves. Wildlife activists hope to raise enough public awareness to force the state Wildlife Resources Commission to outlaw them.
    
Controlled hunting preserves are used to train dogs to pursue and catch wild animals. Operators of these preserves release foxes or coyotes for dogs to track.
    
Sporting groups say controlled hunting preserves are necessary to help train dogs.
The president of the North Carolina Sporting Dog Association, Keith Loudermilt, questions the activists' motives. He says the animals are not being abused.