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Captive hunting is regulated in Vermont

Email|Link|Comments (6) Posted by bdaley December 29, 2008 03:35 PM

By Beth Daley, Globe Staff

I have always associated private game parks with Africa – those places where you can make a trophy kill of everything from wildebeest to lions in an enclosed area.

A moose in the wild in New England's North Woods

Yet such captive hunting parks – which have long drawn the ire of animal lovers – also exist in New England where hunters can pay for the privilege of bagging a native bear, moose, deer or even an exotic Russian boar or Spanish goat in a fenced in area.

While such hunting parks have been around for decades, they are back in the news with Vermont’s Fish and Wildlife Board’s recent decision to regulate captive hunting. The new rules prohibit any new preserves from opening in Vermont and requires the two existing ones to apply for permits and limits what kinds of animals they can have on site.

According to the Humane Society of the United States, Vermont will become the 24th state to regulate or ban game preserves. In New England, Rhode Island has an outright ban on such preserves while New Hampshire and Massachusetts have some restrictions on the practice. Maine, however, allows such preserves with no regulation. The society has identified close to dozen such parks there.

While the Humane Society is against hunting in general “we focus resources on egregious forms of wildlife abuse and captive hunting is right up there,” said Joanne Bourbeau, New England regional director of the Humane Society. Here is a map where captive hunting is allowed.

She said the animals in such parks have little fear of humans and shooting them could hardly be called a sport. The emergence of disease is also higher in captive areas where population numbers tend to be denser than in the wild.

According to local news reports, the captive hunting issue has been debated for ten years in Vermont, culminating with the new rule. For local news stories, go to http://www.benningtonbanner.com/local/ci_11269158 or http://www.reformer.com/ci_11328448.

tags captive hunting, game preserves, Hunting, russian boar, Vermont

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6 comments so far...

so what?...why don't you flatlanders stay out of our business, just come up here to ski and seya lata

Posted by frank December 29, 08 07:37 PM

What is being regulated is not "hunting". It's target practice with live animals.

People who engage in this sort of stuff have no right to refer to themselves as "hunters".

Posted by Dot December 29, 08 07:44 PM

pretty soon they'll be coming after you for the ski resorts too. hah. you see, the ski resorts use too much electricity and water and the lights hurt the baby owl's eyes.

Posted by julio December 30, 08 11:37 AM

Seriously, "flatlanders" ? how pathetic are you?
People who take part in this "sport" are also pathetic, it's like shooting your family pet. These animals have no fear of humans.

Posted by Katie December 30, 08 11:54 AM

. Yea sure Katie you just walk right up and shoot them. There's 3000 acres around them and they have nowhere to go? You don't give enough credit to the animals you "love "so much Grow up, Man is a preditor and has Dominion (capital D) over animals. seriously....flatlander you are the pathetic one. Go complain about the fast food restuarant down the corner from your shabby apartment they treat animals worse.

Posted by frank December 31, 08 08:04 AM

I believe if some of you could witness the hunting at a reputable large hunting preserve where the animals propagate and feed themselves, other than the narrow minded activist, you will have a different opinion. We strive to harvest the animals in the quickest and most humane way possible. I have hunted four times at one such large preserve and before each day the owner stresses the importance of inflicting as little suffering to the animals as possible. I have eaten every animal I have killed and have no "Trophy Mounts" as reminders. These animals are not more susceptible to disease as pigs penned up and wallowing in there own feces, and the meat is much healthier with far less fat.
Maybe if you people spent your money more wisely on the domestic dog and cat problems you might feel like you are accomplishing some good. I myself have trapped three cats in my neighborhood and have had them fixed, given all their shots and release. Using my own money to help these animals.
So focus people focus.

Posted by Will January 3, 09 07:16 PM