‘Canned hunting’ bill dropped

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Updated: February 2, 2012 11:22PM

INDIANAPOLIS — An attempt to legalize the hunting of deer and elk kept inside high fences has been shelved by the leader of the Indiana Senate.

The House this week approved a bill allowing the fenced hunting, but Senate President Pro Tem David Long says he believes it is a “terrible idea” and is using a procedural move to kill the proposal for this legislative session.

The bill would have legalized four existing shooting preserves that are now operating under an injunction issued in a lawsuit against state rules adopted in 2006 to ban captive hunting.

Indiana Deer and Elk Farmers Association president Rick Miller tells The Journal Gazette that deer farmers now sell many of their deer out of state, but want to be able to expand their Indiana business.

Information from: The Journal Gazette, http://www.journalgazette.net