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Preserve Owner Sues State

The operator of a deer hunting preserve has filed a lawsuit seeking to stop a proposed ban on canned hunts.



The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in Harrison Circuit Court in Corydon, contends that the Indiana Department of Natural Resources exceeded its authority by planning to enforce a ban on deer hunts within enclosures beginning next year. DNR Director Kyle Hupfer announced the move earlier this month.



"It is surprising and incomprehensible that the new director of DNR has out of the clear blue sky issued a pronouncement that they (hunting preserves) are illegal,'" Indianapolis Attorney Donald Blinzinger, who represents the Indiana Deer and Elk Farmers' Association, said Thursday in announcing the lawsuit.



The lawsuit, which asks the court to declare the rule null and void, was filed on behalf of Rodney Bruce of Corydon. According to court documents, Bruce has a game breeders' license and operates a preserve called Whitetail Bluff 2003.



To keep deer in captivity, preserve owners must obtain a game breeder's license from the state.



Blinzinger said DNR correspondence dating back to 1999 indicated the agency approved of the hunting preserves. He said there are 10 to 12 such places in the state.



The deer kept on game preserves are private property, not wildlife, he said.



Hupfer said earlier this month that after consulting with the Indiana Attorney General's office, the DNR had concluded that Indiana law allows the keeping of deer in captivity for the sole purpose of propagation and does not allow hunting.



The DNR's move followed the high-profile trial of a Peru deer farmer who was convicted earlier this year on charges he ran illegal deer hunts on his hunting preserve.



DNR officials declined comment on the lawsuit or Blinzinger's statement Thursday, saying they had not yet had a chance to review the documents, The Journal Gazette of Fort Wayne reported.



Hupfer also signed an emergency rule banning the hunting of exotic species _ such as wild boar, sheep, elk and zebra _ in enclosed areas. There are about 225 deer or elk farms in Indiana, with 125 farms also permitted to have other exotic species.



Blinzinger claimed the emergency rule effectively bans the hunting of white-tailed deer by specifying the species group that includes deer, elk and moose.



In his statement Thursday, Blinzinger cited several organizations whose members he said support the lawsuit, including the Indiana Bowhunters Association.



But a spokesman for the bowhunters group denied the claim and said the association's members support the ban on canned hunting.



"To try to put our name in here is obviously trying to associate our group with this lawsuit," said Gene Hopkins, legislative director of the Indiana Bowhunters Association.



"When we say the IBA supports the ban on canned hunting, it's not just us as officers, but with our membership's full support," he added. He said only one member supported canned hunting in the group's most recent survey.



source: Water and Woods waterandwoods.net

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