"That's where the real damage to hunting comes in. This gives the bunny huggers ammunition to criticize hunting. People hear about hunting inside high fences and get turned off to hunting."

Guy Eastman

The people that operate high fence shooting galleries argue that they offer "hunts" as challenging as any in the wild. A little thought destroys that argument. The elk pictured here will not want to escape the man that feeds him, and could not escape if he wanted to. The fence in the background will stop him.

To be Fair Chase, the game animal must have the wit and the will to escape the hunter. Raise a deer or elk inside and escape proof fence in close contact with humans, and the animal loses its innate fear of man. What animal will run from the hand that feeds it? And escape does not mean running to the end of the pasture where a fence stops the animal.

The issue is simple: Should North Dakota residents accept high fence shooting operations, operations that do not follow the hunting season, observe no bag limits except the size of the shooters bank account, and do not require a hunting license.

The shooting gallery operators argue that what they do is none of our business. They tell us to butt out and ignore what they do behind their fences. They are wrong. These operations are our business because what they do behind their high fences reflects on North Dakota hunters, and ultimately, on all North Dakotans, because in the end, we are all responsible for the laws and regulations passed in our state. The non-hunting citizens of this state accept hunting as part of our heritage. The North Dakota State Constitution protects that heritage by law. We cannot continue to have legitimate fair chase hunters associated with those that shoot animals penned inside escape proof pastures. We want to pass our hunting heritage to our children and grandchildren; shooting penned animals without any opportunity to escape is a poor example to pass on.