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I don't like the idea of hunting in a high-fence area for native game animals e.g. Elk ranches in New Mexico, but I don't think it should be illegal either. What a man wants to do with his property is his business. That being said, I know for a fact that some people, certainly not all, who operate these ranches steal public animals to populate their ranches and I think if they get caught doing that and are convicted in court they should pay a huge penalty up to and maybe including the loss of their land. John Farner If you haven't, please join the NRA! | |||
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GOD DAMN! Finally somebody said something that made sense. Thank you Allen. Something I have felt for one hell of a long time is either abolish the Boone and Crockett bullshit Club or remove the hunter's (?) name from the trophy. I wonder just how many of those animals in the "book" were really taken in "fair Chase"? How many laws were broken so some rich son of a bitch could get his name in "The Book?" Have I ever hunted a high fence hunt? Nope. I'm a poor man. I couldn't affford it to save my aging ass. Would I like to? Why not? Sure. As long as the place had a decent amount of acreage, why in hell not. Frankly, I'd just as soon do a cull hunt for spikes and does. Like Allen said, you can't eat the horns and I'm not all that big on ego trips. When I first moved to Nevada, I had a chance to do a deer hunt. Never having hunted that type of terrain before, I was supposed to hunt with the sons of a fellow who took weather observations on a contract basis. His boys went out to do the scouting and found three very large bodied deer with the heads and capes removed and the carcasses left to rot. They decided to not take me out with them. This left a bitter taste in my mouth for two reasons. One, I didn't get to go hunting with them to learn how to hunt that type of terrain, and two, I'd would have loved to shoot the bastards that wasted three nice deer. This holier than thou bullshit about never wanting to hunt a high fenced area is nothing more than sophistry. Nothing more than an ego trip. The whole source of the problem is this. There is a book where people can get their names entered if they kill an animal that meets certain standards. Some unscrupulous people with way too much money will do literally anything to get their name in that book,thus showing what a "mighty Hunter? he is. How many times have fine big game animals been disrespected by these egomaniacs? If I had my way, I'd change the rules so that a trophy animal could be entered in the book, but the hunter's name would not be allowed. Respect for the animal, and no ego trip for the hunter. Even if he bragged on it, had the head on his wall, his name would NOT be in the book. Might also be a way to help prevent poaching before the season to get heads to sell to those who want an ego trip and not have to work for it. Would I ever mount and enter a real trophy animal in the book? To be honest, I don't know. I've never taken one that big and I probably never will. Here in AZ we only have a foud day season. Makes it kind of hard to pick and choose. Usually just take the first legal deer or elk I see and enjoy the steaks, roasts, burgers and stews. I consider ever animal I take a trophy of sorts. Paul B. | |||
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Here's a couple different opinions. The State of Ak. requires you to pack out the meat before packing out the antlers/horns. There by making this a meat hunt. Some folks don't eat wild game. They just hunt for the fun of it. They haul the meat home, complying with the law, then throw it away. Perfectly legal. On Kodiak Island if you kill a deer, you are required by law to salvage the meat, if you don't, you will be fined a certain amount. So, the dead deer is yours, and has a value. However, if you have a bear try to get the meat, you cannot shoot to protect it. I don't understand. On one hand it's yours and you are responsible for it and on the other hand you cannot protect your property. I hunt for 3 reasons, 1. I like to hunt, 2. I eat most of the meat, 3. I enjoy shooting a large animal. I don't eat everything I shoot. I don't eat Bears, Coyotes, Foxes, Wolves, Porcupine, Spruce squrrels, rats etc. They would fit under #1 above. I have never shot a animal just for the horns/antlers. I doubt I ever will. Eliminating canned hunting or horn hunting will not stop the antis. They want to stop ALL hunting, be it in 5 acres or 50,000 acres or for horns or meat. Whether you hunt for meat or horns, on 5 acres or 50,000 acres, we need to stick together or we will lose. | |||
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Amen, TJ  _______________________________________________________ Hunt Report - South Africa 2022 Wade Abadie - Wild Shot Photography Website | Facebook | Instagram | |||
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I disagree. I believe we will lose if we support high-fence "hunting." It's kind of hard to convince non-hunters that people don't hunt simply because they enjoy the kill, when you have these game farms that offer guaranteed kills for anybody with enough money. | |||
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We should support high-fence hunting. We have western states that discriminate and do not want non-residents to hunt on public land that belongs to all of us. Where should they hunt when they can't draw a tag? Should they give up hunting? I'd rather have them hunting something rather than nothing at all. As long as they hunt they have a stake. | |||
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What some fail to realize is that the fence is not strictly used for containment. The fence is a management tool. On a small property, or a large property, the fence will make a difference of whether or not an immature (4.5 year old) buck is taken. On a fenced property, the odds are that they will let him walk. On an unfenced property, he would likely be shot. It makes no difference of the size of the fenced property. 100- 100,000 acres. That deer will probably walk. The likelyhodd of him being shot increases as the size of the unfenced property decreases. As a landowner, leaseholder or hunt club member, I am more likely to shoot an immature deer if I think he is of reasonable trophy quality and I if think that he might be killed as he crosses the property line. As a landowner of a fenced property, I am reasonably certain that if I let 4.5 year old deer walk this year, it is likely that they will make it to next year. | |||
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wow elandslayer you must have very small genitalia to be proud of shooting (not hunting) canned animals ! how much money a year do you or your family make by selling canned hunts to suckers ? have u ever hunted REALLY wild animals outside off texas fences,feeders etc,? not ! If u want missing trophies,stolen trophies,crap mounts or replacement minature trophies .....use KARL HUMAN TAXIDERMY in east london, south africa. | |||
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As usual, the 'holier than thou' crowd shows up for the 'canned hunt' debate. THE LUCKIEST HUNTER ALIVE! | |||
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You'd think from reading the replies here that Texas is one great big tangled mess of 10' fencing...what a joke! I'm dead against canned hunts and 'pre selecting' your animal...and it does happen unfortunately. To say or imply that it is the majority of what goes on down here is laughable in the extreme. Of the many hundreds of thousands of deer harvested each year in Texas, maybe 0.01% fall into that category...think about it. If there were enough deer big enough to draw that kind of interest (and $$$) we'd outclass the entire rest of the world combined in terms of numbers of trophy WT deer! IIRC we're like 3rd or 5th in the B&C. I would guestimate that less than 1% (probably a lot less) of the total rural land in Texas is high fenced. Get real guys...you don't like it, fine. I don't care for it much either. Painting the entire state (and the residents therin) with that broad brush only hurts us all. You included. It also does a great job of showing your small mindedness. And to the theory that a well managed ranch increases the chances of CWD...BS! Keeping healthy populations reduces the threat...overpopulation is rampant in many (low/non fenced) parts of the country (not just Texas) and THAT will lead to disease problems. If my neighbor does not thin his herds and his deer therefore present a threat to those on my land, I feel eminently justified (if not morally obligated) to keep them out in whatever way possible. Finally, and I'll get off my soap box, what's the difference between a Texas deer raised in thick brush with supplemental feed and say a Kansas deer (not picking on Kansas, but it's an easy analogy, the same holds for any agricultural area) feeding on a corn or soybean field all summer? Are they not both 'artifically high quality' in their diet? Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense. | |||
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pigslayer, Neither me or my family sell any hunts of any kind. I don't know where you got that from. Also, I've never even killed a Whitetail deer inside a high fence before. I have hunted Axis, Blackbuck, Eland, and lots of pigs behind high fence though. I'll bet you've never been to a well managed high fenced ranch either, have you? Please give me some real reasons for your thinking the way you do. Why would animals all of a sudden become "tame" because they're inside a high fence? Please enlighten me. _______________________________________________________ Hunt Report - South Africa 2022 Wade Abadie - Wild Shot Photography Website | Facebook | Instagram | |||
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Some of you who are against high fenced hunting and think it is just shooting fish in a barrel should watch Jack Brittingham's videos. He owns at least 3 high fenced ranches (2 are in Texas, 1 is in Illinois) and most of the deer killed on his videos are behind high fence. His high fenced property in East Texas is 1,800 acres and he hunted for a specific buck on that ranch for 84 days in one season and only saw him twice for a total of about 1-2 minutes. None of you can sit there and try to tell me that's "canned hunting" or "shooting fish in a barrel". If you don't think that's real hunting, you need your head examined. Jack Brittingham does it right and I would consider him a guru in Whitetail Deer management. _______________________________________________________ Hunt Report - South Africa 2022 Wade Abadie - Wild Shot Photography Website | Facebook | Instagram | |||
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i used to manage an area of forest in Scotland that was almost surrounded by agricultural land, so that the deer were fairly resident in the forest and did"nt stray far. The area of forest was about 1500 acres, and there was a good population of Roe and Red deer. That forest could have been fenced off without affecting the Roe, and with some affect on the roaming of the Red deer. I gave it up allowing my lease to expire as it was without doubt the hardest place i had ever seen to shoot deer. The total area was relatively small, but because of the heavy cover and lifestyle of the deer it was close to impossible to hunt. The total area a deer has to range has little to do with how easy he is to shoot. Last year i fed Does in another forest, put up a trailcam and waited till i had the times they were feeding and where they were coming from. They were wild deer, roaming wherever they wanted. So when i shot them eating barley and mollasses was that more ethical than Eland"s ranch? Should bear baiting be made illegal too? what about tree stands? I think there"s a few guys here need hooked up to the Bullshit meter before they go condening another guy"s sport. good shooting "now go, and never darken my towels again!" Groucho Marx | |||
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I humt a 30,000 acre high fenced ranch in South Texas. In areas this ranch has arroyos, mesquite motts and scrub oak thickets so thick you could walk by deer standing 15 feet away and never see them. We have deer, coyotes, bobcats, havalina, wild pigs, mountain lions, dove, quail and enough snakes that if stretched end to end they would reach from Laredo to San Diego. Over the past three deer seasons, I have been chasing a particlur deer. Speaking for both myself and that big 12 pointer (if he could) these last three years have been a heck of a chase and as fair as you can get. That deer is close to 10 years old now, it is better than even money that deer will die of old age or one of the predetors on the ranch will take him down before I get an oppertunity to shoot him. Just because there is a fence does not make automatically make it unsportsman like. | |||
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And just to make sure no one is confused. We don't own a ranch, yet. When we do buy one in the next year or two, we ARE going to high fence it. We will have 20-30% of it planted in food plots and we will also feed protein year round. But, we do not have a place of our own right now. We do manage a 2,000 acre lease in the Hill Country though, but it is not high fenced. _______________________________________________________ Hunt Report - South Africa 2022 Wade Abadie - Wild Shot Photography Website | Facebook | Instagram | |||
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So what makes hunting behind a high fence so wonderful? No one else can get to your animals? You know you'll eventually get "the big one"? I keep hearing all these arguments about "how hunting behind a high fence is no different than free-range", but no one has really spelled out why it is so much better. The more I think of it, it keeps on boiling down to egos, greed, and lazyness. Wildlife management on these types of operations serves NO PURPOSE other than to grow big antlers for $$ or personal satisfaction, and I have not seen any argument to prove otherwise. MG | |||
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Madgoat, Are you trying to say that you don't hunt for personal satisfaction? So, you must only hunt because "it's a dirty job and somebody's gotta do it", right? Let's be honest, we all like to shoot animals with big horns/antlers. Madgoat, if you aren't interested in killing bigger animals, I don't want you shooting any trophy animals, okay. Deal? The next time you are out in the woods and that 400" Bull Elk walks past you, don't shoot him, because you're not interested in big antlers. Sounds kinda retarded, huh? Here is what I posted earlier regarding trophy animals:
_______________________________________________________ Hunt Report - South Africa 2022 Wade Abadie - Wild Shot Photography Website | Facebook | Instagram | |||
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 I'll try and tell you. ITS CANNED HUNTING. Can the aniaml leave the 1800Acres of its own free will? Have you ever tracked radio collared whitetail?I Have. 1800 acres ain't shit. I currently have over 60 whitetailed deer collared, over 50 mule deer collared and more than 30 cougars collared. All of them regularly move more than that.
Whitetail deer management? I would say he is a guru in zookeeping. Granted, keeping wild animals alive in a zoo is no easy task, buts let call it what it is. Your previous comments about how we will never agree a probably true. But I would have a lot more respect for your position if you were just honest about it: You want to fence aniamls in and EARN MONEY from them. Just say it like it is! Quit trying to make some biological or ethical argument for it, because even though few will continue to argue with you on this forum about it, a STRONG majority know why your so adament about it. MONEY! That same mostly silent majority will just sit and watch as 2 or 3 of the hundreds who post here come out in your defense. Its legal. Its political. Grow some balls and just say so.  IV minus 300 posts from my total (for all the times I should have just kept my mouth shut......) | |||
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Right on Idaho....these folks saying that their 1800 acre fenced area (or whatever the acrage may be) is sufficient to ensure a quality "hunt" with "wild" animals is just not right, although they are entitiled to their opinion as much as you and I are. Anyone who has ever hunted elk and spooks a truely wild elk KNOWS that regardless what direction they take off, 1800 acres would not begin to contain them if it were not for the fence. Period. As much as they want to wish it otherwise, that animal is contained and therefore, easier to kill. Same for deer, moose, badgers, whatever! Again, my main gripe is the guy that is gonna smack his elk on that type of enclosure and tell anyone that listens that he is as good a hunter as the next guy that gets his elk the hard way. Oh hell...the flames are coming my way again.... | |||
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Quick question. How many of you guys opposed to high fence hunting have any experience or working knowledge of it? I dont want to hear your reasons why you haven't, just answer the question please. Terrain makes a huge difference in how I answer the poll question. 1000 acres in South Texas is a lot different than a 1000 acres in Idaho, Montana, etc. I also have noticed a not so subtle "class envy" tone in the oppossed group. "money", "some rich..." Perry | |||
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Yes they can. I have seen deer on several occasions clear a high fence. Fences that are not maintained on a regular basis constantly have holes punched in them by feral hogs and other animals. Floods will often remove a large section of high fence. High fences are not deer escape proof.
No. But I have observed whitetail for a lifetime and granted some do range more then 1800 acres when looking for food, water, or to breed but the majority of them have a smaller range then 1800 acres if conditions are favorable. It may be different in your area but not in mine.
I did get to help collar a number of cougars and some ranged up to 60 miles. And they had to cross high fence ranches to do it! As a matter of fact that is where is was the easiest to find their trails when you could find a hole in the fence. | |||
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BINGO Perry!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THE LUCKIEST HUNTER ALIVE! | |||
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Perry, Right on! I do not know why we even bother to attempt to educate the rabid anti-fence crowd. They are so irrational about the subject, it is like arguing with a tree. I have not found one "pro-fence" poster who thinks hunting in a small enclosure, is acceptable. Not one. The reasonable "pro fence" poster understands the relationship between the size and thickness of the enclosure to the ability of the animals to evade the hunter. In a large enough enclosure, the fence will not play a roll in the outcome of the hunt by limiting the animals ability to avoid the hunter! You can even be an anti-fence guy and recognize the relationship, but choose not to hunt in a fenced ranch. That is fine and acceptable. We just want a to have a reasonable and rational discussion about the roll of the fence. Let's face it, if you are going to be reasonable about the subject, you have to admit that the larger the enclosure and the rougher and/or thicker the cover, the more difficult it is to find a specific animal. If you fail to admit this, there is no sense in discussing the topic. You will never understand the basis of the argument of the hunter who realizes that the fence has it's place in hunting. | |||
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I hate canned hunting as much or more than anyone. It makes me sick. All these ads for guaranteed monster bull elk infuriate me, and stories of these "hunts" have caused me to reconsider my subscription to magazines that I was once very fond of (eg Big Game Adventures). "Hate", "loathe", "detest"....none of these words is strong enough to describe how I feel about those operations. BUT, I will be the first to admit that all "high fence hunting" is NOT canned hunting. IMHO, each situation has to be judged independently before you can come to a conclusion about whether if provides a fair chase hunting opportunity. The species being hunted, the habitat inside the fence and the size of the fenced area all play major roles in that evaluation. Some posters here see things only in black and white....the reality is that there are mostly just shades of gray out there. I personally condemn canned hunting, but I am not prepared to write-off every single property with a high fence around it as a canned hunt. And for the record, I have hunted inside a high fence (in RSA), on a few different size properties for a bunch of different species. I was very leary about it, but I have discovered my personal comfort level with it as a result. There were a couple propertied that I felt were too small, considering the open terrain and more wide ranging species we were hunting. Then there were places where I know the native game lived and died without ever seeing a fence. One last point...I have no issue with someone killing their own food, inside a high fence, pasture, corral, or in the wilderness. I find it much more honorable to do any of those things than to buy your protien at the grocery store (which is having someone else do your dirty work, instead of having the blood on your own hands). Just don't call it hunting when it isn't. MHO, FWIW, Canuck | |||
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Elk inside a high fence is different than whitetail deer inside a high fence. I believe anytime elk are "hunted" inside a high fence, that IS a canned hunt. I don't care how many acres it is. It's not natural. Now whitetail deer inside the same fence MAY be a different story. Then again, maybe not. All depends on the particular property and the terrain. Still, I'm against high fences either way. But like I said before, keep them in Texas and I'll be fine with that. And keep prostitution in Nevada. | |||
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How are you with prostitusion under a high fence? Perry | |||
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If it's your sister I wouldn't have a problem with it. | |||
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Washington Hunter, What was that I heard, a slight voice of reason from the anti-fence crowd?  [This part edited in after the initial post: I had not seen Washington hunters comment about Perrys sister when I posted this. I withdraw my comment about a voice of reason.] There is some validity to your point about hunting Elk inside a fence. It is not as natural as outside, the conditions, range etc, are different. There is no denying that. I have never known an Elk preserve that duplicated the wild and free conditions of the typical Western Elk hunt. Sure, I can see a bit of a point there for the majority of the Elk preserves. But, who are you to say that someone else can't do it? Are you afraid they will compare their game ranch Elk to your hard earned free-range Elk? If so, why do you care? Your trophy means more to you than the Elk farm trophy to the other hunter. Nothing wrong with it, that is just the way it works. Whitetail hunting, on the otherhand, under the right circumstances, in a decent sized ranch, can exactly duplicate the natural conditions of the hunt. Either way, as long as it is conducted under a reasonable set of ethics, why are you so concerned? How does this effect you if you are not hunting behind a fence? I am not trying to be confrontational, I really am asking a legitimate question. I would like to know why the actions of others (considering a reasonably ethical set of circumstances exists) effects you? | |||
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Yes, there is something wrong with it. It gives all hunters a bad name, because non-hunters who see this or hear about this type of "hunt," are going to think all hunters only care about a guaranteed kill. Also, haven't you heard of CWD? I simply don't believe in the private ownership of big game animals that are native to this continent. I'd like to see an end to that. You can talk about private property rights and how the high fences are only to keep the animals in so the neighbors don't kill them all you want, but it won't make a bit of difference to me. I think wild animals should have the ability to go where they please and not be restricted by a fence. And I don't believe whitetail deer and elk should be treated as if they are livestock. Just my opinion but I'm sticking to it. | |||
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All ethics aside regarding shooting something behind high fences... I haven't seen anyone mention the other problems associated with high fences. -fences block seasonal movement or migration routes of wildlife outside the fence. -disease concerns (CWD, tuberculosis, etc) There have been MANY examples where captive deer were the ultimate source for a disease introduced into a wild population. -habitat fragmentation (a high fence is a "dead" zone to native wildlife, no different than a shopping center or subdivision) -habitat degredation-artifically concentrating animals well beyond the carrying capacity the land can handle(generally supplemented with "feed") seriously degrades the localized habitat behind the fence. This can affect many other species like small mammals and birds. -private ownership of native wildlife-this goes against the entire premise of wildlife conservation in this country. We are regressing back to midevil times, when royalty and the wealthy were the only one's that were able to hunt. The general public has no access to wildlife behind a high fence that came from public stock in the first place. -perception by nonhunters (who aren't against or for hunting) that hunting behind high fences IS canned hunting. If you want to make more anti's, you're all doing a fine job. Or do you high fence advocates even care about this sort of stuff? There is no biological argument to have high fences! Do you not care about TB? How about intraspecific competition by some of these species with native wildlife if they somehow escape (barbary sheep not only can out compete bighorn and desert sheep, but they carry a plethora of nasty little bugs which can decimate sheep populations)? I guess as long as trophy keep on being put on the wall, and $$$ to line your pockets you don't really care about this other stuff eh? MG | |||
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I think we are all clear on one point, small acerage with no chance of a specific animal avoiding the hunter is not considered ethical hunting by any stretch. None of us want to do it, none of us call it ethical or fair in any way. Unethical hunting of animals in unethical circumstances does give hunters a bad name. That is what most of the anti-fence posters are missing here. We are talking about reasonable circumstances. I am sure that 99% of the guys who recognize that high fence hunting has a place in the hunting world would agree that 20 acre pens or even 500 acre pens with no cover are not hunts, these are "shoots". I am talking about high fence ranches of reasonable size, with reasonable cover that allows an animal to escape. Oh and by the way, Texas with the larges number of high fence ranches in the US, has no CWD. So you guys can stop saying that fences cause CWD. Yes any disease can be spread within a feedlot type of environment, but remember, this discussion is not just about the the small pens, it is about all high fences. We are all in agreement about the small, shooting pens. Lets get past that now and recognize the difference between a shooting pen and a large high fence well managed ranch .... | |||
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Ok ok I guess after reading all these posts. I will change my opinion to High fence hunting is ok. As long as there are large open holes all throughout the fence so the animals can go where they please  | |||
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IdahoVandal, I am being honest. I have NO interest whatsoever in making money from animals inside a high fence. I want to have the animals on my property for me to hunt. The only reason to sell hunts is to (1) help cover costs of running the ranch and (2) give other hunters a chance to hunt while maintaining healthy animal populations on my property at the same time. Just in case anyone is wondering, high fence is currently running $15,000-$25,000 per mile depending on the type and quality of fence and who installs it. That can get VERY expensive, so selling hunts only help cover that cost. Wendell is right on. We can all agree hunting in pens with no cover, whether it is 10 acres or 500 acres is not a hunt. He is also right about CWD. Texas probably has 90% of the high fenced properties in the U.S. and we haven't had any cases of CWD yet. Let's keep trying to have a real discussion instead of a pissing contest.  _______________________________________________________ Hunt Report - South Africa 2022 Wade Abadie - Wild Shot Photography Website | Facebook | Instagram | |||
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Washington Hunter...ouch! If you look behind you, you'll notice the line. Madgoat, All your points have been adressed by TP&W and high fences are a positive in disease control. High fences do not inhibit the migration of any species and over stocking is a problem regardless of the fence. In most situations where $ is not the focus carrying capacities are kept lower for better nutrition thus benefitting the remaining animals. Antis are already just that and the heigth of the enclosure has NOTHING to do with it. Perry | |||
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What I don't understand is if a landowner manages his land in such a way that it provides ideal habitat for a particlar species, why do you need a fence to keep them there? And, how and when did wildlife become private property in the first place? | |||
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I think a point needs to be made. All of the arguments by the anti-fence crowd are citing the exception rather than the rule. 1. Not all ranches that are high fenced are small pens. I would venture a guess that the vast majority of them are quite large. 2. Very few high fence hunts are done in small enclosures. The ones that are happen to get far more publicity than the ones on large ranches. I won't deny it happens onse again ... the exception rather than the rule. 3. Not all fenced ranches are overpopulated. Most concerned landowners try to manage their herds. A managed herd will produce better profits. An overpopulated herd will cost money in supplemental feed if th ecarrying capacity is exceeded. If your argument is that the ranchers are in it strictly for the money, buddy, I have some news for you! 4. Few of us (high fence landowners) are in it strictly for the money. Yes, there is a profit to be made, if done properly, but it is similar to any ranching or farming operation. Lots of overhead, time, labor, money, worry, headaches with very little profit margin. Based on an hourly basis, I am better off working at McDonalds. At least I would get a regular check from them ... not to mention the discounted burgers ... 5. Arguments that the fenced ranch steals animals from the public is ridiculous. At the closure of the fence, there will be a certain number of animals on the ranch. This number is likely to be about the same number that live there anyway. This is the same number of animals that were unavailable to you to hunt anyway, because you can not come on private property without permission, or a fee. The only difference is that this closure of the fence is a one time deal. After this, there should be no more animals from outside the fence that get it. If the land were unfenced, I could plant the entire thing in alfalfa and draw deer off neighboring properties and let people pay a tresspass fee and shoot as many deer as I could. Based on this ridiculous argument that fences steal the publics deer, Wouldn't this also be considered "stealing the pulics deer"? | |||
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The fence assists the landowner with the management in two ways. If you goal is to produce trophy 5.5 to 6.5 year old deer, the fence adds assurance that a 4.5 year old deer will not be shot as he crosses the property line. This is a huge concern for a lot of landowners who happen to border small tracts that are overhunted (There is an example of an unfenced property stealing the publics deer!) The second reason is if a rancher does create ideal habitat, he will likely be flooded with deer from the neighboring property. (Stealing publics deer again, are we?) The fence allows him to control the number of deer with accurate and unchanging counts and accurate harvest recommendations. Also a strict control of the buck to doe ratio can be maintained. This benefits the overall health and structure of the herd. Also, a lot of Texas ranches have exotics. Most can not be kept in by cattle fences. | |||
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Fine...just keep the exotics in Texas, and the fences. | |||
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Wendell: I realize your operation may be an exception, in past debates I sense you really do care about the wildlife. But, for the sake of civilized debate I must disagree on a couple points:
Again, I don't want to come across as brash, I believe you have some valid points. In the end, I believe there is no "Biological" justification for them. I also believe that the negative public perception and stigma associated with these operations is a negative for all of hunting. For me, it boils down to simply changing the negative stigmatism associated with it and I personally would be more open (not totally) but more open to them. IV minus 300 posts from my total (for all the times I should have just kept my mouth shut......) | |||
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IV minus 300 posts from my total (for all the times I should have just kept my mouth shut......) | |||
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The Accurate Reloading Forums THE ACCURATE RELOADING.COM FORUMS Hunting American Big Game Hunting Poll: Hunting in High-Fenced Facilities
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