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Idaho Senate into the rut on elk bills 2/12/2007 The Senate Agricultural Affairs Committee will consider a round of domestic elk legislation this week, from a licensing system for elk ranchers, to new fencing requirements, to a state ban on fenced-in elk shoots. The slew of bills, prompted in part by the escape in August of up to 160 domesticated elk from East Idaho veterinarian Rex Rammell’s ranch, pit the elk industry against sportsmen concerned with the safety of wild herds. “If we want to secure the wild elk and deer herds from the risk of disease and if we want to maintain our generations-old fair chase hunting heritage, then my two bills are aimed to do just that,” said Sen. David Langhorst, a Boise Democrat and co-chairman of the Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus. Langhorst wants to put an end to what he calls “canned hunts,” the shooting of domesticated wildlife on private fenced-in ranches, a growing practice in Idaho. His bills also would enforce double fencing on game farms, and ban further importation of domestic elk in the state. A bill sponsored by Sen. Tim Corder, a Mountain Home Republican, would create a licensing system for domesticated elk ranches. It is backed by the Idaho Elk Breeders Association. “Had we had licensing, Mr. Rammell would not have been able to persist in his reluctance to comply,” Corder said. Corder said the bill will give the Idaho State Department of Agriculture (ISDA) more power over the industry. “The day that license is gone, you’re out of business,” he said. Langhorst also supports the licensing bill, though he cautions that Idaho regulators have been soft on game farms to date. “We failed to actively enforce the rules on the books so it’s reasonable to question whether these new rules would be fully enforced,” he said. The ISDA licensed game farms until 2002, said John Chatburn, deputy administrator for the Division of Animal Industries, the division that oversees elk ranching, also known as domestic cervidae operations. In 2002, based on advice from a state attorney, the ISDA stopped licensing elk ranches. In 2003 the ISDA had a domestic cervidae permitting bill printed, but Bob Hillman, animal industries administrator at the time, announced to the House Agricultural Affairs Committee that he had spoken to the governor and with elk ranchers and that they had no intention of holding a hearing on the bill. No hearing was ever held on HB158. HB158 was similar to Corder’s licensing bill, S1074. The earlier bill required an annual $200 fee, whereas this year’s version posits a one-time fee. The licensing bill also specifies a genus and species of red deer that should be prohibited in Idaho – cervus elaphus. Idaho Department of Fish and Game legislative liaison Sharon Kiefer said she will ask that that description be more general so as not to allow other subspecies of red deer into the state. The bill also attempts to close a loophole in the fees that elk ranchers currently pay. The ISDA collects a $5 per animal fee once a year, but animals that are imported mid-year and killed before year end may not be accounted for. Corder estimates that the ISDA is losing $2,500 to $3,000 a year because of this loophole. His bill requires the fee on every animal imported. Langhorst’s bill goes further, banning future import of elk, fallow deer and reindeer to the state. He said he is not calling for a ban on elk ranching, but if elk ranching is to be an agricultural pursuit, he does not think the animals should be shot or speared for sport. The bill also bans fenced-in hunting of domestic cervidae. His second bill also calls for double fencing on elk farms. Sen. Gary Schroeder, a Moscow Republican is calling for a moratorium on new elk ranches until 2012. Schroeder also has a separate licensing bill that allows the ISDA to set its own fees. You can bugle at them too. Elk hearings begin Tuesday, Feb. 13 at 8 a.m. in room 437 on the Senate side of the capitol. Senate Agricultural Affairs Committee chairman Tom Gannon has also reserved Thursday, Feb 15, also 8 a.m., in case testimony is not completed. |
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