In Ontario, you can train hunting dogs by letting them chase penned animals. Is that fair?

For the first time in more than 25 years, Ontario is accepting applications from operators who want to create new fenced-in training facilities stocked with coyotes, foxes, rabbits and hares — specifically designed to teach dogs to pursue live animals and also to host competitions.

"[The dogs] have a nose — they find the game, they flush the game and they keep the game moving," said hunter Ron Lounsbury, 80, who lives on a farm outside Brantford, Ont., and has been breeding and raising Trigg Foxhounds, a hound dog breed, for more than half his life.

He calls them his babies.

Lounsbury currently has 30 of his own dogs and regularly brings them to a training facility near Smiths Falls, Ont.

"It's a big, rugged, well-maintained, well-kept pen. The game's in great shape," he said.

In Ontario, it's still legal for hunters to train their dogs in these wildlife pens, but they've become increasingly controversial. Firearms are not permitted inside the facility. 

"Contact between sporting dogs and wildlife is actively avoided and strict protections are in place to maintain safety," Lounsbury said.

In 1997, then Ontario Conservative premier Mike Harris began phasing out "train and trial areas." The province stopped licensing new pens and didn't allow existing ones to be transferred to anyone else. 

At the time, there were 60 facilities in Ontario. Today there are 22, according to the province, but that could soon change now that Ontario is accepting applications for new pens until Dec. 29. Non-residents can also apply.

"Train and trial facilities prepare sporting dogs and their handlers for animal tracking and competitions while ensuring a safe environment that protects both dogs and wildlife from public areas," said Melissa Candelaria, senior communications adviser for Ontario's Ministry of Natural Resources.

The number of licences the province grants will depend on how much interest there is, she said.

"I think it's a good idea," said Lounsbury. "It's governed, it's controlled. They protect the game. The people who own them and run them are dedicated people and they work very hard at what they do."

Facility operators must meet certain provincial standards before they can open. For instance, facilities housing coyotes must have a pen of at least 80 hectares for training purposes and 160 hectares if the pen is used to host competitions, which involve judges awards points to dogs for their ability to track and flush out animals.

"People say it's a pen, a confined area — but it's a huge area. You don't know you're in a pen," said Lounsbury.