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Bill to spare high-fence hunting sure to draw fire - The controversial practice of hunting deer in high-fence preserves, set to be banned this March in Indiana, would survive under a proposal that gets its first hearing today.

A hearing on House Bill 1349, which would overturn a ban on deer-hunting preserves, will be at 10:30 a.m. today in Room 156C of the Statehouse.

The bill in the Indiana General Assembly is certain to be contentious. By one measure, hunting animals on private, fenced-in preserves — “high-fence hunting” if you’re in favor, “canned hunting” if you’re against — is a small matter. There are only 10 such preserves in Indiana.

But Rep. Bill Friend, R-Macy, who in the past has sponsored pro-hunting preserve bills, said no other issue evokes such emotion.

To proponents, high-fence hunting is economic development, free enterprise.
To opponents, the practice is sick and unacceptable and could cause the spread of disease.

In Indiana and in other states, preserve hunting has thrived because hunters are willing to pay thousands of dollars to take a nearly guaranteed shot at a “trophy” deer. That shot is almost certain because the animal is enclosed by a 9-foot-tall fence.

In recent years, 11 states have banned the preserves.

The Department of Natural Resources banned the practice last year, but the delay until March was intended to let members of the General Assembly weigh in.

Many animal rights groups oppose hunting. And in this controversy, they’re joined by some hunters groups in their opposition to hunting behind fences.
“We don’t believe in hunting, but canned hunting is more egregious than hunting in the wild,” said Heidi Prescott of the Humane Society of the United States.

Doug Allman, a veteran hunter and spokesman for the Indiana Deer Hunters Association, said “canned hunting” is not sport but tantamount to “hunting livestock.” He also worries about the spread of disease, particularly Chronic Wasting Disease, which has been detected in captive deer herds in other states.

The bill’s author, Rep. John D. Ulmer, R-Goshen, is also a veteran hunter. Hunting behind fences “is not my preference,” Ulmer said, but he insists that, with regulation, it can be sporting. For example, his bill proposes that no animal can be shot if it’s within 150 yards of where its keeper places its feed.
The preserves’ chief benefit, in Ulmer’s opinion, is as a tool for economic development. He sees dollars coming into rural Indiana. The 100-acre Whitetail Bluff preserve, near Corydon, charges $3,900 for a three-day weekend, and this season it was nearly booked solid. Many customers come from out of state.

By Will Higgins
will.higgins@indystar.com
If the DNR had its way, Whitetail Bluff and the other preserves would be out of business. Ulmer said it’s unfair to change the rules in midstream. He said he’d settle for a compromise: “Let’s grandfather in the ones that exist and look at (the issue) again in a few years.”
In Ulmer’s district, there are no such preserves, but there are “deer farms.” Most are small operations, many Amish-owned, that raise white-tailed deer and sell them to hunting preserves in Indiana and elsewhere. There are about 300 of them in Indiana.
A young, well-bred animal — one expected to grow big antlers — can fetch thousands of dollars from preserves. Without hunting preserves, there would be no need for deer farms.
The bill also would allow bird hunting preserves to locate within one mile of state public hunting grounds, instead of the current five miles, and would reduce the minimum number of acres required for the preserve.
In Indiana, lawmakers have debated the issue since the late 1990s. There have been bills in favor of preserves and bills opposed. None has passed. But the issue was not pressing. Indiana’s existing statutes are murky, and the DNR allowed preserves. The DNR did its about-face after Kyle Hupfer, an avid hunter, took over as director last year.
The bill goes before the Natural Resources Committee today. Ulmer and Allman expect it to advance.

Call Star reporter Will Higgins at (317) 444-6043.