Indiana Court Rules Against DNR in Dispute over High-fence Hunting
OutdoorHub Reporters 02.03.15
On Monday the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled that the state Department of Natural Resources (DNR) does not have the authority to prohibit high-fence deer hunting, or the hunting of captive animals. This decision is a new wrinkle in the decade-long fight between wildlife officials and private breeders to either ban or allow captive hunts.
In 2005, the DNR ordered more than a dozen high-fence hunting facilities in the state to shut down, due in part to worries over the spread of infectious diseases like chronic wasting disease. For years, owners of high-fence hunting facilities argued that the DNR does not have authority over privately-owned wild animals. The three-judge panel agreed, ruling that the DNR went beyond its authority in attempting to manage captive animals on privately-owned land and that “if high-fence hunting is to be prohibited in Indiana, it will require further legislative intervention.”
Legislative action is exactly what the House Natural Resources Committee is considering. According to the Indianapolis Star, at least two bills are under consideration that would clarify the DNR’s authority over captive deer, including one that would ban high-fence hunts altogether and another that would allow captive hunts to be regulated. A number of conservation-related groups have criticized the court decision, which they say sets a dangerous precedent. Among them is the Indiana Conservation Officers Organization (ICOO).
“It is truly frustrating that such a longstanding and common sense perspective of both the intent and practice relevant to the protection and management of our fish and wildlife resources has been so abruptly set aside,” ICOO president Jeff Wells wrote in a statement. “I am deeply concerned that the recent court of appeals decision will have negative unintended consequences on a wide array of Indiana’s fish and wildlife species.”
The only dissenting voice in three-judge panel, Judge Nancy Vaidik, agreed with this sentiment. In her opinion, Vaidik wrote that she reached the “inevitable conclusion that the legislature intended to give DNR regulatory power over all wild animals,” regardless of whether they are behind fences.
Deer breeders applauded the majority decision. Critics of the DNR say that by prohibiting high-fence hunting in the state, the agency not only shuts down a handful of hunting preserves, but also places restrictions on the hundreds of deer breeders in the state.
“We’re just trying to clarify that,” Shawn Schafer, North American Deer Farmers told the Star. “We’re trying to put rules and regulations in place.”
DNR spokespeople said the agency is currently reviewing the court decision, but gave no hints over whether the agency would be pursuing an appeal to the Indiana Supreme Court.
