"One does not hunt in order to kill; on the contrary, one kills in order to have hunted...If one were to present the sportsman with the death of the animal as a gift he would refuse it. What he is after is having to win it, to conquer the surly brute through his own effort and skill with all the extras that this carries with it: the immersion in the countryside, the healthfulness of the exercise, the distraction from his job.

Jose Ortega y Gasset, Meditations on Hunting.

The shooting gallery operators can't honestly defend what they do behind their fences, so they resort to deception about the initiated measure ND Hunters for Fair Chase proposes to place in front of the people for a vote.

On line, in public, and in writing, they state that the Initiative language is vague and includes all manner of hairy creatures in the proposed shooting ban. To prove their point, one of their web sites represents the following language as the Initiative: “This initiated measure would add a new section to chapter 36-01 of the North Dakota Century Code effective November 1, 2010, providing that a person, other than an authorized government employee or agent, is guilty of a crime if the person obtains payment for the killing or attempted killing of privately owned big game species or exotic mammals in or released from a man-made enclosure.”

This language will appear on the ballot, but will not become law. The language above was prepared by the Attorney General and the Secretary of State to serve as a brief outline of the proposed law. The Initiative will not appear on the ballot for one simple reason; some initiated measures are pages long. A ballot simply isn't big enough, hence the Ballot title, a brief outline for the voter in the booth.

The Initiative Language that will become law:

BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NORTH DAKOTA:

SECTION 1. A new section to chapter 36-01 of the North Dakota Century Code is created and enacted as follows:

Fee killing of certain captive game animals prohibited – Penalty – Exception. A person is guilty of a class A misdemeanor if the person obtains fees or other remuneration from another person for the killing or attempted killing of privately-owned big game species or exotic mammals confined in or released from any man-made enclosure designed to prevent escape. This section does not apply to the actions of a government employee or agent to control an animal population, to prevent or control diseases, or when government action is otherwise required or authorized by law.

SECTION 2. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act becomes effective on November 1, 2012.

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That is the measure. When passed, the new law will eliminate canned shooting of captive big-game species inside escape-proof fences for fees.

The high fence operators insist that the initiative language is vague, and if passed, will put Bison growers out of business. They insist on spreading the falsehood that the phrase "big game species" covers all manner of hairy critters. That is a blatant lie spread by the shooting gallery operators because they can't muster any legitimate arguments to support selling a fraudulent "hunt" in lieu of a real hunt based on fair chase.

A principle of American Jurisprudence holds that a statute must be specific. Contrary to what the high fence operators say, the language of the Initiative is specific. The Fair Chase Initiative, like all law, does not stand alone, no more than the roof of a house stands without walls to support it.

CHAPTER 20.1-01 of the North Dakota Century Code defines Big Game as "deer, moose, elk, bighorn sheep, mountain goats, and antelope." Bison are not included in the definition of "big game species" no matter how the shooting gallery operators twist the Fair Chase Initiative language. That is the law and the law contradicts the propaganda put out by the high fence operators.

"It does not require many words to speak the truth."

Chief Joseph

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Fair Chase Defined

The North American Model of Wildlife Management

The Property Rights Smokescreen

Endorsements

Editorials in Support of Fair Chase

The Wildlife Society On Hunting

The Wildlife Society On High Fences