Lawmakers limit elk ranch reforms

BOISE – Lawmakers picked an industry-backed bill to establish licenses for elk ranches Thursday, rejecting legislation to prohibit new ranches and ban controversial “canned hunts.”

The Senate Agricultural Affairs Committee voted 8-1 for Senate Bill 1074, which requires elk ranchers to pay a $200 license fee but leaves the creation of new ranch guidelines to a later rulemaking process. Senators also left it to a different committee to address ethical questions about hunting domestic elk behind high fences. Instead, they focused on regulating captive elk herds in the same fashion as the state regulates cattle and domestic animals.

Democratic senators who favored restricting elk ranching slammed the bill as ineffective and “incremental.”

Elk ranching and guaranteed trophy hunts on ranches became controversial this summer after at least 63 animals escaped from an eastern Idaho facility, prompting fears by wildlife officials that the elk might spread disease or genetic impurities. Some hunters also say paying thousands of dollars to shoot a trophy bull behind a fence contradicts the concept of “fair chase” hunting and devalues Idaho’s hunting tradition.

Ted Rea, interim president of the Idaho Elk Breeders Association, said the committee took the “hysteria out of the disease issue.” Rea noted that Idaho’s domestic elk have not tested positive for tuberculosis, brucellosis or chronic wasting disease – afflictions found in wild game in nearby states, such as Wyoming.

“They also appreciated that the industry is very pro-wildlife, that we value wildlife as much as any other sportsman does, that we want to take every measure possible to protect both the domestic herds and wildlife and that we have a proven track record at doing that,” he said.

But Sen. Clint Stennett, D-Ketchum, endorsed SB 1073, which would have banned new ranches and stopped canned hunts. That bill “appears to be the most stringent or radical,” but it might appear moderate compared with a citizen initiative, he said.

“My guess is, they will outlaw all game farms,” he said.

After nearly three hours of testimony Tuesday, much of it from ranchers fearing for their businesses, committee members refocused Thursday on Rex Rammell, owner of the escaped elk in eastern Idaho.

“When you have a situation in which people can potentially have wide latitude to do things, you’re going to have individuals that take advantage of it and do really bad things that impact the whole industry,” said Sen. Gary Schroeder, R-Moscow. “And we have one individual here who has negatively impacted the whole industry. So we probably need to shut some doors to the benefit of everybody.”

John Chatburn, a deputy administrator for the state Department of Agriculture, said the department is still investigating Rammell for the escape and is in a legal dispute with him over a past incident.

Sen. David Langhorst, D-Boise, sponsor of SB 1073, said nose-to-nose contact through fences or exchange of urine and saliva are the most likely ways for diseases to be spread between wild and domestic elk.

Schroeder said elk must be contained. “I suspect that unless we do something, next summer we’re going to have more animals out,” he said.

The committee, however, rejected legislation requiring dual fencing, which would keep domestic and wild elk from direct contact. Ranchers say it’s prohibitively expensive.

Some lawmakers said disease-carrying wildlife, not domestic elk, is the greatest threat. When the U.S. finishes putting a fence on its border with Mexico, it should put one up between Idaho and Wyoming, Schroeder said.

Sen. Tom Gannon, R-Buhl, agreed.

“I find it interesting that everybody holds Wyoming up as being the model citizen with regards to this issue, and they’re the ones causing us the most trouble with … letting their diseased animals come into our state,” he said.