INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The leader of the Indiana Senate is holding up a proposal that would legalize the state’s high-fenced deer-hunting preserves.

The House voted last month to approve a bill that sets up a licensing and inspection process for Indiana’s four current preserves where farm-raised deer are hunted.

Those preserves currently aren’t regulated in Indiana and the state appeals court has ruled the Department of Natural Resources overstepped its authority in trying to shut them down.

Senate President Pro Tem David Long says he’s keeping the proposal on hold as House and Senate members work in private on a possible compromise. Long has been an opponent of the fenced preserves for several years and says he doesn’t think simply legalizing the current ones is a permanent solution.

http://wishtv.com/2015/03/23/senate-leader-holding-up-bill-on-fenced-in-hunting-preserves/

The bill will be heard on Monday with some modifications. The Senate Natural Resources Committee is heavily stacked in favor of the bill so I expect it to pass out of committee with only Dems and maybe one Republican voting against it. The lone Republican is trying to get tighter restrictions on the bill but I don't think it will be anything we will like.

http://iga.in.gov/legislative/2015/committees/natural_resources

Jack

I got a letter from my Representative offering to meet and discuss this further if I wished. She is firmly against the legislation and believes they should shut down. I am going to meet with her though on a few other DNR and NRC issues.

HB1453 has already passed the House. Instead you should meet with your Senator if possible.

I have exchanged communication with him. Not positive.

I have talked to my senator Jim Smith he voted against last time around And believe he will this time but has voted for in the past call him and ask

HB1453 passed out of committee by a 6-3 vote today. Bill has been amended but there are lots of holes in it. Most important is that DNR cannot make any rules that prohibit or impede the operations of the high fence facilities. In other words only the legislature can govern the deer preserves.

Passes committee 6-3. Not surprising. The real decision will be in the Senate.....IMO

Amendment to captive-deer bill now requires no deer imports into preserves. Only Hoosier farm-raised deer may be shot.

Fences at deer preserves would have to be 10 foot (currently 8) and they'd need to be 125 contigious acres

Deer can't be hunted within 24 hours of being sedated.

When CWD does get into a hunting preserve and the state kills them, no reimbursements from taxpayers

Where there's a will, there's a way.

Good news on another front though. If they legalize rifles, they will be used in state parks and other DNR properties per the DNR legal counsel.

As written the preserves could use any legal weapon ANYTIME they are open. As written deer drives INSIDE the fence are not banned. As written baiting could be allowed since the owners could argue that such a DNR regulation is impeding their business. There's no option requiring a distance between the fence and the treeline hence increasing the chance of a tree falling on the fence and leading to escapes. No option to prevent from using drones in aiding hunting. Not sure if dogs could be used or not. As written I would say they could.

This may be the best we can get but it's not enough and leaving DNR with no rulemaking power really defeats the purpose of involving them. Even the bird preserves are regulated by the DNR. Why not the deer preserves?

Jack

P.S. the bill that was passed today is still not available to the public.

Contact your Senator and urge them to vote against HB1453.

The why not Jack is because this legislature is not a bunch of people that has any real sense for what can happen, nor do they appear to care about much more then a few of their friends.

Well, we beat them back by one vote last year so I'm optimistic. Call your Senator.

This does need to be killed, please call your Senator.

If this passes............ I have it from a reliable source that the Deer and Elk farmers are going to sue........ Attorny's and paper work is already secured. Several issues are of legit concern..... for one, you can't grandfather in a few for a business. This is a major problem! 125 acres???? This pits SEVERAL operations against each other, same with the 10 foot fence. LAWSUIT just waiting to happen , then it allows them to operate for years until the courts decide the fate.

Call your Senator TODAY and have that person vote NO!

Kill it now and it very well could be permanent, but I have little faith in what the Republicans will do.

They believe they are untouchable............

Word on the Street is that this Bill now opens it so anyone can now pretty much open a preserve!!!

If anyone can clear up this roumour please do!!

Brew - while I still don't have a copy of the passed version of the bill I did talk to Senator Crider. You are correct that the bill as passed will allow for new facilities as long as they have the proper acreage and fence. This opens it up to everyone in the State. Major issue.

Free enterprise and none discrimination. That's what the state is all about. Oh, and if I heard right, the legislature says they should make the rules to manage the deer herd, not the DNR. (Or something like that) These folks IQ must be off the charts.

Well. I've seen the amendment and if you own 160 acres and a 10 foot fence you are in business. The committee make-up was stacked for this legislation. This is how the vote went:

http://iga.in.gov/legislative/2015/bills/house/1453#document-13eda896

Jack

Yeah, Dave, the only rules come from the legislature not DNR.

Understood, but the rules can affect management and if the legislature doesn't like the management, then they can make a rule.

How much does it cost to high-fence 160 acres? According to this link, it's about $25K per mile which is about what it would take to do 160 acres.

http://www.westerveltwildlife.com/pdf/Volume%206,%20Issue%203%20-%20High%20Fencing.pdf

So clearly that's not much of an entry barrier for horn pimps.

Call your Senator.

Actually 2 miles of fence to do a square of 160 acres (0.5 miles by 0.5 miles), but yeah I see your point.

The profit from the first few "trophy hunts" should pay for the fence.

Because of the RFRA amendment yesterday the vote on the high fence preserves has been delayed until at least Tuesday. Contact your Senator and the Governor and stop House Bill 1453.

Jack

Something to bear in mind: if our elected officials fail to pass a bill in regards to the" preserves" this year, there will be no regulations in place. This means I could potentially put up a fence around my 3/4 acre backyard and call it a preserve. Although I don't completely agree with this legislation I do feel some regulation is necessary. If we continue to just kill every bill regarding this issue we will create more problems.

Henry Frapp, IMO you're wrong. Our DNR is charged with managing our fish & game resources here in Indiana, and it needs to stay that way. It's only those seeking to take that control away in order to profit from the direct sale of wildlife in the form of canned hunting, who need a bill from the legislature.

As we have witnessed last week in Indiana, business interests generally speaking rule the world anymore. Admittedly this is a bit different, but to a reasonable degree the business interests pretty much drive and control what this legislature does and these pens are at least presented as a business opportunity for Indiana. Find 5 big corporate heads that don't support this and get then to call the Senate Pro Tem and the Speaker of the House and it'll be defeated. They clearly thought they controlled the state but learned otherwise.

Henry........... Use your real name.... Rodney Bruce or your cousin.......

You want this deal.

You may get it...... but a pig with lipstick is still a pig.

EXACTLY...you can't hide the "SMELL" also...!!!

From Ohio
http://www.cleveland.com/outdoors/index.ssf/2015/04/second_ohio_white-tailed_deer.html

Coming soon to a canned killing farm near you .....

Well, they passed second reading yesterday. I'd say this is pretty much a done deal. My senator contacted me and said he was voting against the bill no matter what. maybe the Governor will veto it. Hah!!

Jack

Yeah like that idiot we have for a Governor would ever do anything smart... Look no further then the fiasco we had to deal with last week... He is about as big as embarrassment as that idiot we currently have for a President...

Two different entities there '78 .... Pence should have held firm on the LGBT/gay crap and not budged....as for the high fence trash, I wish he would veto it....

Yup! ^^^^^^

I know it's a sore subject, but I have to ask....

How many on this forum voted not only for the people who pushed high fence hunting through but also voted for Gov Pence?

Everyone write your senator and the governor asking that this bill die. My senator already is on board as are others. Hopefully the governor may influence this and veto it. Then we go to the Supreme Court.

I'll be shocked if Pence vetoes this........

Sources tell me it's possible...

email him here:

http://www.in.gov/gov/2752.htm

I can't imagine his Republican buddies are going to be too happy if he throws them under the bus over this......

Regardless...thanks for the link.

jjas, I'm a conservative, and a proud one, that is how I vote..... Ive never voted Dem/lib, and never will...cant stand the nasty bastages....any ways, the Repubs are looking at this as pro business I'm guessin'.....the Dems in general are looking at this as more of an animal rights issue/anti hunting/anti gun and will be more prone to vote against it as that is what most Dems support, the enviro nut cases/anti side, its in their blood so to speak..... I will still support our Republican party in this state, I disagree with those supporting the high fence idiots on this issue, but I generally support what they do in the big picture... you will never find a politician that you can agree with 100% of the time..... if they piss me off enough, I just wont support them any longer, but I will not go to the dark side...