Questions remain on canned hunt issue (09/07/06)

The Indiana Wildlife Federation has a question, and it deserves an answer: "What happened?"

Word came down last week that the Indiana Department of Natural Resources is on the verge of an out-of-court settlement that would allow canned hunting operations to continue for another 12 years.

Canned hunting involves charging fees to shoot deer and other wildlife in pens or restricted areas. It's the antithesis of real hunting.

Last week's news came in spite of the fact that the DNR adopted a rule in March to ban canned hunting in Indiana. It's in spite of the fact that the rule was cleared by Indiana Attorney General Steve Carter and signed by Gov. Mitch Daniels.

It's also in spite of the fact that efforts to legalize canned hunting got nowhere in the Indiana General Assembly this year.

So, what happened?

One of the operators of a canned hunting property has sued the state to block the rule.

But instead of fighting to uphold the rule, the DNR is rolling over, negotiating a settlement that calls for a 12-year "phase out" of canned hunting.

There's a chance, of course, that the state would lose in court if it fought the lawsuit. But there are precedents in other states that indicate the DNR is well within its rights in this case.

Even if it lost the lawsuit and the ban was eliminated, the DNR would be in a position to regulate canned hunting and the public would have a chance to weigh in on the issue.

The settlement is simply an act of surrender.

As it stands, conservationists are looking for answers. Hunters - most of whom find the notion of canned hunting offensive - are looking for answers.

And, we suspect, most of the employees of the DNR are as baffled and disappointed as the rest of us. - J.R.[[In-content Ad]]