The Humane Society of the United States estimates that there are more than 1,000 canned hunting ranches in at least 28 states. On these operations—which range in size from one acre to more than 10,000 acres—participants shoot confined animals for a fee, in "no kill, no pay" arrangements. Gazelles sell for $800 to $3,500; oryx, $5,000, and Corsican sheep, $500. The more exotic the animals—Eld's deer, for instance, at $10,000—the higher the price.

S. 304, the Sportsmanship in Hunting Act, would make it illegal to knowingly transfer, transport or possess in interstate or foreign commerce a confined exotic mammal "for the purpose of allowing the killing or injuring of that animal for entertainment or the collection of a trophy...."

Because of the patchwork of state laws dealing with exotics, and because many of these animals move in interstate commerce—traditionally an area of congressional oversight—federal legislation is required to halt the unsportsmanlike business of canned hunts.

Unsportsmanlike and Inhumane

There is no more repugnant hunting practice than shooting tame, exotic mammals in fenced enclosures for a fee in order to obtain a trophy. There is no sport to this activity, because the animals are confined, and the kills are often guaranteed. The rules of "fair chase" that govern hunting forbid baiting waterfowl, spotlighting deer, hunting from motorized vehicles, and hunting from aircraft. Canned hunting violates the concepts of fair chase and sportsmanship, and should be banned.

Hunters' Opposition

Hunting groups such as the Izaak Walton League have long opposed captive exotic hunts for mammals. The Boone and Crockett Club (an organization founded by Theodore Roosevelt, which maintains records of North America's big game) takes the position that "hunting game confined in artificial barriers, including escape-proof fenced enclosures, or hunting game transplanted solely for the purpose of commercial shooting" is "unfair chase and unsportsmanlike."

In Beyond Fair Chase, a book used in hunter-education courses in many states, hunter Jim Posewitz, a 32-year veteran of the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Parks, states:

There are some activities that are clearly unfair as well as unethical. At the top of the list is shooting captive or domesticated big game animals in commercial killing areas where a person with a gun is guaranteed an animal to shoot. These shooting grounds are alien to any consideration of ethical hunting.

Native Game Populations Threatened

Exotic mammals may interact with native wildlife. These exotics, who are often transported across state lines, stressed from travel and clustered with other animals, may spread a variety of diseases to native wildlife—something that has already occurred in some western states. For instance, in a July 31, 1995, letter to The HSUS, a Wyoming Game and Fish Department official stated, "Tuberculosis and other diseases documented among game ranch animals in surrounding states ... pose an extremely serious threat to Wyoming's big game."

Key Points

• The Sportsmanship in Hunting Act would have no impact on the hunting of indigenous wildlife. States would continue to manage traditional hunting.

• The bill covers only exotic mammals, those who are not "historically indigenous to the United States." Birds such as doves, pheasants and mallard ducks, as well as native mammals such as white-tail deer and bears, are not covered by the bill.

• It protects exotic mammals that have been confined—those "held in captivity for the shorter of (A) the greater part of the animal's life; or (B) a period of one year."

• Exotic mammals living as they would in the wild or on large preserves would not be covered by the legislation (though the ethics of hunting such animals is still debatable). According to the legislation, the period of captivity would not include any time when the animal "(A) lives as it would in the wild, surviving primarily by foraging for naturally occurring food, roaming at will over an open area of at least 1,000 acres [approximately 1.5 square miles]; and (B) has the opportunity to avoid hunters."