Rex Rammell, the former owner of the Chief Joseph Elk Ranch near Rexburg, Idaho, pens an editorial in the Idaho Statesman this morning. Rammell, who made headlines last summer when several of his elk escaped and the Governor ordered them shot on sight, believes that the Idaho Elk Breeders Association sponsored bill that would require licensing of ranches, would be a clear threat to property rights. Here’s what he says.
he anti-freedom coalition put on their frowny faces recently after their three bills aimed at immediate destruction of the elk industry failed to make it out of committee. Those on the elk breeders “board,” on the other hand, were all smiles after the defeat of the three bills and the passage of their “elk ranch licensing bill” onto the Senate floor. What they don’t realize and have been warned repeatedly about is that a law requiring licensing of elk ranches will have the same end result, only more insidious.
Licensing is a government imposed “epidemic of control and fear”: do as they say or have your license revoked. Nearly every occupation has or soon will be licensed. Surely you will recall the controversy over contractor licensing in 2006. Now we are moving into licensing property. I was recently humored when I took a vacation to Las Vegas. A solicitor approached me on the street and gave me a flier promoting a local psychic. At the bottom it warned: Be sure your psychic is licensed! I couldn’t help wonder what the requirements possibly could be to be a licensed psychic. Maybe they have to take a test which validates they are certifiably insane.
Likewise, I think the elk breeders (the board, not the majority) that supported the licensing of elk ranches — private property — have validated their insanity. Scared to death that the anti-freedom coalition’s arguments would win over a private property rights’ argument and would end elk ranching in Idaho, they committed the unpardonable sin: making a right a privilege.
Licensing as defined in Black’s Law dictionary is a “revocable permission to commit some act that would otherwise be unlawful.” Owning property in Idaho is a bedrock “inalienable right” found in Article 1 of the Idaho Constitution and can only be taken away through eminent domain in which a person must be compensated or by the consent of the people in which the right would forfeit.
I wonder if Idaho really understands what is at stake here. Believe me, it is not just elk ranches that are in trouble!
The bill Rammell is referring to that was sponsored by the IEBA is SB1074. This bill would require licensing of elk ranches and would include a $200.00 inspection fee plus $5.00 per head. Written into the bill as well is a provision that gives the Agriculture Department the ability to revoke a license from anyone not adhering to the guidelines.
SB1074 passed the full senate by a vote of 24 – 9 and has since gone on to the House. No action as been taken as of yet.
Tom Remington
