High-fence hunting forum draws many

Toni Pirkl The Jamestown Sun
Published Friday, March 07, 2008

 

High-fence hunting of elk and deer is coming under fire with a proposed initiated measure that would end the practice in North Dakota. The Jamestown chapter of United Sportsmen sponsored a public forum Thursday night to give both sides of the issue an opportunity to present their case. “There’s a lot of confusion on this issue,” said Jim Weight, a member of the local chapter and state chairman. “We don’t have a side. We just wanted everyone to come and listen.”

John M. Steiner / The Sun Area residents listen Thursday as opponents and supporters of the Fair Chase Initiated Measure present their arguments. The measure would ban operations that offer hunting for elk and deer in fenced-off areas.

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The Fair Chase Initiated Measure would ban fee hunting of elk and deer raised on ranches. The measure does not affect bison or pheasant hunting. The supporters are collecting signatures to get it on the November ballot. “We want to know what we’re voting on this fall,” said Merle Weatherly, president of the local chapter of United Sportsmen, who emceed the forum. Elk and deer ranchers told the more than 200 area residents at the forum this measure violates property rights. Wayne Laaveg, president of the North Dakota Elk Growers and Shawn Schafer, president of the North Dakota Deer Ranchers, spoke of protecting property rights for all landowners. If the measure passed, Schafer wondered how soon bison and pheasant would be added to the list of banned animals. “Our property rights are in extreme jeopardy,” Schafer said. “This measure could trigger the loss of more of our rights.” Roger Kaseman, who is chairman of the Fair Chase Initiative, said, “Using property rights to justify canned hunting is a hoax.”The ranchers argued there are stiff regulations for those who raise big game and have hunting operations. The animals are not captured wildlife. They’re purchased and raised as livestock. They are also overseen by the state Board of Animal Health. The acreage the deer and elk are hunted on can run from 600 to 2,000 acres.“They’re shooting livestock, not game,” said Kaseman, who is a hunter. “High fence is not fair chase.”Kaseman, Dick Monson, secretary for the initiated measure, and Lloyd Jones, project leader for the Audubon National Wildlife Refuge Complex, all spoke of the lack of ethics in this type of hunting.“A guaranteed hunt is as unethical as you get,” Kaseman said.Schafer reminded the audience that North Dakotans are very lucky to have the open space to hunt wildlife. Preserve hunting is much more common in highly populated states as open land disappears. Jones said about 80 percent of the voters in the country are neutral when it comes to hunting. Those voters will base their opinion on what they see and hear about hunting.“Ethical behavior is what will determine their support,” Jones said. “Do we believe fenced shooting is something they’ll support? They will decide the future of hunting, not us.”Monson said he wanted to preserve public hunting and see the end of canned shooting operations.“We’re the stewards of wildlife,” he said. “This is commercializing wildlife hunting.”Laaveg said preserve hunting is not for everyone. He, like the others, hunts in the wild. However, he said, there are a number of options from which to choose in the state. “Hunters can choose how they wish to hunt here,” he said. “The heritage of hunting is alive and well in North Dakota. We protect the resources we harvest.”

Sun reporter Toni Pirkl can be reached at (701) 952-8453 or by e-mail at tonip@jamestownsun.com

 

 

 

 

 

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