The controversy around preserve hunting lies in that dirty word “fenced.” Many hunters and non-hunters alike contend that hunting game in an enclosure is shooting fish in a barrel.
“Penned hunting is an inhumane and unethical practice,” said Barbara Cartwright, a campaign manager for the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW). “These operations, by their very nature, attract unskilled hunters, increasing the chances that the animal will not be killed quickly.”
Currently, 20 American states and the province of Ontario have banned all preserve hunting of big game.
“We’re opposed to big game farms purely for biological reasons,” said Robert Pye a spokesman for the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters. “It has nothing to do with ethics; that should be left up to the hunter.”
The OFAH maintains that farmed deer and elk spread diseases to their wild counterparts when they escape.
Fair Chase
Most hunting groups share the view that fair chase rules should not be legislated. Yet there does seem to be a sense that preserve game is less than authentic. The Boone & Crockett Club, which evaluates and records big game trophies, stipulates that an animal submitted for scoring must be “free-ranging and taken in its native habitat.”
What’s curious is the double standard among many hunters that bird hunting preserves are fine, but big game ranches are not. When Ontario instituted its ban, it made an exemption for game bird farms.
“Bird hunting doesn’t have the same ethical concerns,” said Gary Martin, the legislation specialist for the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. “Birds can’t be confined by a fence. Also, bird hunting preserves have a long history in Ontario. They’re part of our hunting culture.”
Hunting Reserves in Texas
When it comes to big game ranches, few regions have the market cornered as well as Texas. Home to more than 500 reserves, Texas is the back bone of the $1.3 billion industry, according to a 2007 survey done by the Texas A & M University
Even more incredible is the variety of game. The Triple 7 Ranch serves up a menu of everything from boar and red stag to Marco Polo sheep, scimitar oryx and even Cape buffalo. Fees range from a few hundred dollars for wild hogs to a staggering $50,000 for buffalo.
Almost all of the ranches contacted refused to be interviewed for this story. One rancher finally agreed, provided that he could remain anonymous.
When questioned about the ethical issues, he would only say that, in his 30 years in the business, he had never witnessed anything he would consider a “canned hunt.”
“Even in fenced areas, some of my clients go home empty-handed. There’s no guarantee.”
He explained that enclosures can be 1,000 acres or more in size and covered in forest. The animals roam freely within the preserve.
Game Farms and Conservation
One defense given for game ranches is that they have been the salvation of at least a few endangered species. The most famous being the Indian blackbuck antelope.
Native to the Asian subcontinent, the blackbuck was teetering on extinction by the early 1970s. But by this time, large populations existed on ranches in Texas. It was the Triple 7 that, in 1971, donated over 30 animals to the Indian and Pakistani wildlife departments. Many ranchers believe a reintroduction with the scimitar oryx, (nearly extinct in North Africa) could also be possible.
One of the biggest reasons for the demand for preserve hunting may simply be convenience.
Most preserves offer year-round hunting. And of course, they’re open to anyone willing to fork over the cash. In an age when public hunting land is shrinking and busy work schedules limit autumn days afield, preserves are an attractive option.
Should preserve hunting be banned? Some jurisdictions have done so. In the case of Ontario, it seems it did with the support of its hunting community. Some feel preserve hunting degrades the hunting tradition.
“Its deplorable and turns the public against what is an honorable activity necessary for wildlife management,” Robert Brown of the American Wildlife Society told the BBC during a 2006 interview. “It may one day spoil hunting for the rest of us.”
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