« Ind. Law - Status of massive bill to eliminate commissions, boards, and committees, including environmental boards | Main | Ind. Courts - State of Indiana v. International Business Machines Corp. is now scheduled for oral argument for Monday, February 13 at 9:00 a.m. »
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Ind. Law - "Hunting preserves: Legislative efforts in the past focused on grandfathering the existing preserves only, but this bill goes further to open the industry to new operators"
Back again. The ILB has a very lengthy list of earlier entries on issues involving hunting preserves and canned hunting in Indiana.
Niki Kelly covers that history well in her long, comprehensive story today in the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, headed "Captive hunting bill passes committee." A few quotes:
INDIANAPOLIS – Hunting preserves in which people pay thousands to shoot deer behind high fences would be legal under a bill that passed 8-4 Tuesday out of the House Natural Resources Committee.House Bill 1265 would legitimize four existing captive hunting sites in the state – including one in Kosciusko County – as well as open up the practice for new operators following specific guidelines. * * *
The bill would reverse state regulations on high-fenced hunting and end a languishing lawsuit that started in 2005 and is just part of the issue’s complicated past.
The controversy began to fester in the late 1990s when a few facilities sprang up under a game breeder’s license. The owners charged thousands of dollars for hunters to come in and shoot prized deer bred specifically for large antlers.
Many outdoors groups opposed the operations from the beginning, saying no Indiana law specifically authorized the activity.
But preserve owners argued nothing explicitly prohibited it either.
And Bruce received documentation from former Department of Natural Resources’ officials that the operations were legal. * * *
In August 2005, then-DNR Director Kyle Hupfer announced after extensive study and hearings that the existing shooting preserves were not allowed under current law. To remove confusion, he sought and passed administrative rules outlawing the preserves, and Gov. Mitch Daniels signed them.
Preserve owners sought an injunction to keep operating. At the time, there were about a dozen facilities but that has dropped to four partly because the owners are unable to plan long term and invest money in the operations, said Rep. Matt Ubelhor, R-Linton.
Dozens of supporters were at the Statehouse on Tuesday. The supporters largely consisted of those who run hundreds of deer and elk farms in the state who specifically grow deer to sell to shooting preserves.
They argued the farms and preserves are an economic development tool, bringing money from out-of-state hunters. * * *
Those against high-fenced hunting said Tuesday that simply having a fence violates the standards of fair chase because the animal can’t get away.
“It’s just plain unethical to shoot tame deer in a pen and call it sportsmanship,” said Chuck Bauer, a member of the Izaak Walton League of America.
Doug Allman, of the Indiana Deer Hunters Association, also testified against the bill, saying there are plenty of hunting opportunities available in the state without shooting hand-raised animals behind a fence.
Legislative efforts in the past focused on grandfathering the existing preserves only, but this bill goes further to open the industry to new operators. * * *
DNR officials kept silent on the bill Tuesday, though it is a 180-degree turn from prior leadership that fought to end the practice.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on January 25, 2012 10:08 AM
Posted to Indiana Law