Michael Riddle, owner of Native Hunt Enterprises and no stranger to some of the issues faced by hunting preserves/ranches, tipped me off to a really good article on Deerfarmer.com In the article, the author lays out some arguments for allowing these preserves to operate, but he also puts out some general guidelines and ethical rules for their operation. I suppose this is the part that caught my attention.
In the past, I have come out more than once on the side of hunting preserves. While I sometimes have ambivalent feelings about hunting on them myself (although I have and probably will again); I also feel like they serve a purpose for some people, and it should be a personal decision to hunt there or not. I think that, if the operation is properly run and certain guidelines are followed, preserve hunting is perfectly ethical.
So while I could go on to make my own case, the article itself makes it best. Keep in mind that the piece is written specifically based on discussion in Alberta, Canada, but it is relevant to hunting preserves across the US as well. So take a few minutes and go give it a read. You can find it right here.
Really, I think the biggest threat to hunting preserves is misinformation and general ignorance about what they’re really like. A low key, public-relations campaign to educate hunters and non-hunters alike could go a long ways, I believe. Add to that a clearly defined set of ethical standards and guidelines that address the stronger arguments against preserves, and the industry could go a long way to easing the pressures against it.
As the article mentions in the conclusion:
The opposition to harvest preserves is mostly based on beliefs that CHPS are ethically wrong. The opposition comes from people that are least likely to be affected by CHPs.
I urge anyone who has a negative opinion regarding hunting preserves to educate yourselves on the efforts the industry is making to ensure that hunts are ethical and humane, and that the risk of disease is closely monitored and controlled. While hunting behind a high fence still may not appeal to your personal interests, consider that preserves still offer an opportunity to many people who may not hunt otherwise.
Instead of fighting to shut these preserves down, I think it might be in hunters’ best interests to join the efforts to keep them legal, but to address concerns of ethics and safety.
Couldn’t agree with you more, Phillip. It’s important not to fall victim to the HSUS propaganda that leaves people thinking these are all one-acre lots.
I think a preserve suits many purposes, and if you want to get out, get some practice or just enjoy better odds, they can be totally legit. I think what rankles us is the thought of people hunting on a fairly constrained preserve and acting as if that’s the same thing as going out on a 100 percent fairchase hunt – just seems a bit fraudulent.
But it doesn’t help us to let our distaste for those people put us in the Humane Society’s corner on the issue either. Thanks for the heads-up on the story.