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“Game farming commercializes the last remnants of the great wild
commons, it seeks to privatize what is held in trust by all of us, it
domesticates the wildness we sought to preserve, and it trivializes what is
exceptional . . . . The things we value die inside the woven wire of game
farms.”
Jim Posewitz, Orion-The Hunter’s Institute. |
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High Fence
"hunting" operations claim to be fair
chase. But take a close look at the ads they run on the web and the brochures they
pass out to prospective clients. The high fence operators guarantee 100%
success on "trophy quality bulls", for a fee higher than their fences. Anyone who has ever hunted wild, free ranging
elk will tell you that success measured by killing any bull, let alone a trophy bull, is
a rare experience. The
the high fence operators offer a 100% guarantee on a
trophy elk or deer. That means shortcuts. That means fencing the animal in for
the slaughter. Some
of the high fence operators allow the shooter to pick an animal out of a catalog before
leaving their home in a distant state to kill the hapless animal trapped behind
a fence here in North Dakota.
Paying to shoot a domesticated elk of deer inside a fence is not
hunting, it’s killing pure and simple, and makes a mockery of the Fair Chase hunting
traditions passed down to our generation by the pioneering conservationists like
Theodore Roosevelt.
The job ahead of us
will be hard. We need 12,844 valid signatures to put this issue before North
Dakota voters. To accomplish this task, we need help from every corner of the
state.
Get involved. Request a petition to circulate. Get a few extra for your fellow hunters. The private shooting of deer and elk poses a direct threat to the wild hunting we enjoy today. How long will it be before the high fence operators push for a law giving them title to all of the wild life on their land? The ease with which North Dakota state legislatures caved on Senate Bill 2254 this last legislative session, a bill similar to the initiative we are trying to pass, is a harbinger of how easy it would be for the special interests that control high fence shooting to get a bill passed removing wildlife management from the public domain and placing it into private hands cutting off any hunting by the general public except by those with deep pockets. Pie in the sky speculation? Look at Texas where white tail deer and exotic animals are managed behind fences like Herford or Angus cattle.
Get involved. Request a petition and get the required signatures. Help North Dakota Hunters for Fair Chase get the Fair Chase Initiative on the ballot in November of 2008. It is your right to hunt that we are defending.
If you can’t get
involved gathering signatures, send a donation. We will face the entire state and
federal political establishment in the coming campaign. They have Big Business backing them with
loads of cash, we don’t.
A box of Winchester or Remington shells in 30 06 lists in the Midway catalog between $20.00 and $35.00, depending on
the components used. Donate that amount. One box of shells to get rid of this
blight on hunting. If you can afford it, donate the price of a case of ammo. It’s a low enough price to pay to save hunting as we know it.
Please call or
E-mail your name and address to:
Roger Kaseman 8120 17th Avenue S. E. Linton, North Dakota 58552 701-254-4875
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