The greatest skill these houndsmen have is that of training and loving their dogs to death. These dogs love to hunt. As far as hunting and sport, it's not like they have coordinates to ask the bears and just pick one off of isle 9. The bear or lion can and will do everything to lose the trailing dogs by doubling back, cutting water. To your point the sport and hunt happens long before the bear or lion are treed.

Now, once treed is it a difficult shot? No. But that doesn't rob the hunter or houndsmen the pleasure and fascination of watching a well trained dog work.

Also regarding snares and footholds, they are legal in many states and can be very effective. I would argue for a trapper to be effective and successful, their knowledge and skill surpasses most weekend rifle hunters. Does that mean it is less ethical or moral for their trap to do it's job while they are away? No.

The truth of the matter is it is easy to be dismissive of something we don't understand because initial optics don't look right. When it comes to the death of a beautiful animal in what may seem an unfair manner then it's that much harder to explain or convince others, because that aspect remains unchanged. The animal will die, be it via starvation, predation from other apex predators, disease, or any manner of death. Which of those types of death cause the least amount of suffering? I would argue a swift efficient kill from the houndsmen and hunter is far more humane than any other.

Unfortunately as sportsmen, be it the fly fisherman turning his nose up at the baitcaster, or the traditional archer bemoaning the ease and lack of sport in long range shooting. If sportsmen don't come together to protect each other's rights to get outdoors and recreate in God's outdoors and harvest animals which I believe were put here for not only physical nourishment, but mental and spiritual benefits as well.

Little by little there are those that will chip away at opportunity for long held methods of take such as trapping or running dogs. To appease and remove what seems unfair pursuit or harvest, only to then cause more suffering due to increased populations and limited carrying capacity of the land, especially with continued development and encroachment into wild places.