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.
Supporters contend this is not “canned hunting” that has sparked controversy in Indiana and nationwide for questionable practices, such as baiting and drugging deer.
“We are ethical, and we are proud of what we do,” said Rodney Bruce, who operates Whitetail Bluff in Corydon.
And Rick Miller, president of the Indiana Deer and Elk Farmers’ Association, begged lawmakers to “help us get this put to bed so we all know where we stand.”
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.
The biggest and best-known preserve was Bellar’s Place in Miami County.
That is until owner Russell Bellar was convicted of federal wildlife violations. He pleaded guilty in 2005 after testimony at his trial included the fact that deer were sometimes drugged and placed in smaller pens to be shot by celebrities and other affluent hunters.
Bellar then became a rallying cry for the Fair Chase Alliance to get rid of the practice in Indiana.
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.
Bruce testified his hunts range from $1,900 to $8,000 depending on the size of the deer and about five out of 100 hunters will leave his facility after three days with no deer.
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.
Some of the requirements for the facilities would be to have a minimum of 200 acres; pay a $250 annual fee; provide sufficient space and cover to allow animals the opportunity to elude the hunters; and have fences that are at least 8 feet high.
The acreage minimum would not apply to existing preserves.
Those on the preserves would not have to have an Indiana hunting license and would pay $50 a buck and $25 a doe for a transportation tag.
Records must be kept on the animals and the hunters, and hunting would be allowed from about sunrise to just after sunset from Aug. 15 through April 15.
Opponents also fear that hunting preserves will increase the possibility that deadly chronic-wasting disease could hit the deer in Indiana. The disease has not been found in the state, though a 2009 tuberculosis outbreak at a shooting preserve resulted in the stock being euthanized.
Allman said double fences could stop escape and nose-to-nose contact between the wild and captive herds.
But several veterinarians testified that preserves would have lower deer densities than existing breeding farms and must follow stringent testing rules.
DNR officials kept silent on the bill Tuesday, though it is a 180-degree turn from prior leadership that fought to end the practice.
