Canned hunt
Encyclopedia
A canned hunt is essentially a trophy hunt
in which the animal is kept in a more confined area, such as in a fenced-in area, increasing the likelihood of the hunter obtaining a kill. According to one dictionary, a canned hunt is a "hunt for animals that have been raised on game ranches until they are mature enough to be killed for trophy collections."
Senate
s introduced in 2005 by Frank Lautenberg
to restrict certain activities related to canned hunting. The legislation, entitled the 'Sportsmanship in Hunting Act of 2005,' included the following key provisions:
1. IN GENERAL- Whoever, in or substantially affecting interstate or foreign commerce, knowingly transfers, transports, or possesses a confined exotic animal, for the purposes of allowing the killing or injuring of that animal for entertainment or for the collection of a trophy, shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 1 year, or both.
2. EXCEPTION- This section shall not apply to the killing or injuring of an exotic animal in a State or Federal natural area reserve undertaking habitat restoration."
The bill was read twice and referred to the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary
on Feb. 7, 2005 where it failed to continue any further.
Canned hunting has been banned or restricted in 20 states, including Alabama
, Arizona
, California
, Connecticut
, Delaware
, Georgia
, Hawaii
, Maryland
, Massachusetts
, Minnesota
, Mississippi
, Montana
, Nevada
, North Carolina
, Oregon
, Rhode Island
, Virginia
, Wisconsin
, and Wyoming
.
In 2006, Alabama was the most recent state to pass legislation banning many forms of canned hunting. In 2007, a bill in the New York State Legislature to ban all canned hunting of certain "exotic" animals was defeated by legislative inaction.
The Humane Society of the United States
is an outspoken critic of canned hunting. In a statement, the HSUS called canned hunts "cruel and brutal activities," in which the hunted animal has "absolutely no chance of escape." It went on to say that animals have been "psychologically conditioned to behave as a target by life in captivity," among other objections.
Some hunting groups, especially those who focus on hunters' ethics, also object to canned hunting. These objections are on the grounds of "fair chase," the idea that an animal has a fair chance of escaping the hunter, and it's not too easy for the hunter to kill the animal. It is believed that canned hunts take this element away.
Hunting groups such as the Pope and Young Club and the Boone and Crockett Club do not accept animals killed in canned hunts for inclusion in their record books.
Safari Club International
accepts animals killed in canned hunts for inclusion in its record books as well as in its award categories.
became a major news story when a man in Texas set up a webcam and remotely controlled gun to allow hunters to shoot from their computers. According the Humane Society
, most internet hunts involve game ranches where animals are kept penned, making them essentially canned hunts.
On August 15, 2006, Troy Gentry, half of the country music singing duo Montgomery Gentry
, appeared in federal court in Duluth, Minnesota
charged with canned hunting. Federal prosecutors allege that Gentry bought a bear named "Cubby" from Lee Marvin Greenly, then shot the tame bear while it was in an enclosed pen, tagged the bear as if it had been killed in the wild, then arranged for the editing of a videotape of the alleged "wild" kill. Gentry and Greenly are said to face a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison and a $20,000 fine if convicted. On November 27, 2006, Gentry pleaded guilty to a charge of falsely tagging the bear. Under the plea agreement, he agreed to pay a $15,000 fine, give up hunting, fishing and trapping in Minnesota for 5 years, and forfeit both the stuffed bear and the bow used to shoot the animal in 2004. Gentry posted a statement on the duo's website on November 9, 2010, apologizing for his actions.
Another less well-known incident occurred two years prior to the Dick Cheney hunting incident
when the vice president participated in a canned hunt at the Rolling Rock Club in Ligonier Township, Pennsylvania
. Cheney and nine companions killed 417 out of 500 ringneck pheasants, of which the Vice President himself is credited with killing 70, and an unknown number of mallard ducks.
In South Africa, the Minister of Environmental Affairs, Mr. Marthinus van Schalkwyk
, recently announced new laws to stop the practise of "canned hunting" in his country. South Africa environment minister announced long-awaited restrictions on lion hunting, declaring he was sickened by wealthy tourists shooting tame lions from the back of a truck and felling rhinos with a bow and arrow. This comes in response to the embroglio created over the potential canned hunt of the African rhinoceros
'Baixinha.'
Dismissing threats of legal action by the hunting industry, Marthinus Van Schalkwyk said the new law would ban "canned" hunting of big predators and rhinos in small enclosures that offer them no means of escape.
In addition, lions bred in captivity would have to be released into the open for at least two years before they could be hunted. Van Schalkwyk said a previously proposed six-month delay would not give lions enough time to develop self-defence instincts.
"Hunting should be about fair chase ... testing the wits of a hunter against that of the animal," he told a press conference. "Over the years that got eroded and now we are trying to re-establish that principle."
In May, 2007 a much-reported hunting trip involved the killing of 1,051 pound pet pig in an alleged canned hunt. The pig was deemed "Monster Pig
" by the media and it was believed that the pig was a feral hog. It was soon discovered that the pig, previously named "Fred," had been someone's pet and was then sold to a hunting facility only a brief time before he was killed. On May 3, paying customers Mike Stone and his 11-year-old son, Jamison, hunted him in a 150 acre (0.607029 km²) fenced enclosure. Jamison shot Fred a total of eight times over a period of three hours.
A June, 2007 story on CNN detailed canned hunting in South Africa and includes a video of a canned lion hunt where the animal is shot against a fence.
by Megadeth
, is about canned hunting..
The 2004 book Lord of the Kill by Theodore Taylor
, follows the story of young Benjamin Jepson, whose father is an animal rights
activist. The book is critical of the so-called "shooting facilities" of the United Sportsmen, and canned hunting generally.
Trophy hunting
Trophy hunting is the selective hunting of wild game animals. Although parts of the slain animal may be kept as a hunting trophy or memorial , the carcass itself is sometimes used as food....
in which the animal is kept in a more confined area, such as in a fenced-in area, increasing the likelihood of the hunter obtaining a kill. According to one dictionary, a canned hunt is a "hunt for animals that have been raised on game ranches until they are mature enough to be killed for trophy collections."
Legislation
In the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
s introduced in 2005 by Frank Lautenberg
Frank Lautenberg
Frank Raleigh Lautenberg is the senior United States Senator from New Jersey and a member of the Democratic Party. Previously, he was the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Automatic Data Processing, Inc.-Early life, career, and family:...
to restrict certain activities related to canned hunting. The legislation, entitled the 'Sportsmanship in Hunting Act of 2005,' included the following key provisions:
1. IN GENERAL- Whoever, in or substantially affecting interstate or foreign commerce, knowingly transfers, transports, or possesses a confined exotic animal, for the purposes of allowing the killing or injuring of that animal for entertainment or for the collection of a trophy, shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 1 year, or both.
2. EXCEPTION- This section shall not apply to the killing or injuring of an exotic animal in a State or Federal natural area reserve undertaking habitat restoration."
The bill was read twice and referred to the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary
United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary
The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary is a standing committee of the United States Senate, of the United States Congress. The Judiciary Committee, with 18 members, is charged with conducting hearings prior to the Senate votes on confirmation of federal judges nominated by the...
on Feb. 7, 2005 where it failed to continue any further.
Canned hunting has been banned or restricted in 20 states, including Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
, Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
, Delaware
Delaware
Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...
, Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
, Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
, Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
, Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
, North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
, Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
, Rhode Island
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
, and Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
.
In 2006, Alabama was the most recent state to pass legislation banning many forms of canned hunting. In 2007, a bill in the New York State Legislature to ban all canned hunting of certain "exotic" animals was defeated by legislative inaction.
Criticism
A number of groups object to the practice of canned hunting for reasons such as cruelty to animals or that it takes away what is known as "fair chase."The Humane Society of the United States
Humane Society of the United States
The Humane Society of the United States , based in Washington, D.C., is the largest animal advocacy organization in the world. In 2009, HSUS reported assets of over US$160 million....
is an outspoken critic of canned hunting. In a statement, the HSUS called canned hunts "cruel and brutal activities," in which the hunted animal has "absolutely no chance of escape." It went on to say that animals have been "psychologically conditioned to behave as a target by life in captivity," among other objections.
Some hunting groups, especially those who focus on hunters' ethics, also object to canned hunting. These objections are on the grounds of "fair chase," the idea that an animal has a fair chance of escaping the hunter, and it's not too easy for the hunter to kill the animal. It is believed that canned hunts take this element away.
Hunting groups such as the Pope and Young Club and the Boone and Crockett Club do not accept animals killed in canned hunts for inclusion in their record books.
Safari Club International
Safari Club International
Safari Club International is an international organization composed of hunters. SCI has more than 50,000 members and 180 local chapters. SCI's website displays the bannertext "Safari Club International is the Leader in Protecting the Freedom to Hunt and Promoting Wildlife Conservation...
accepts animals killed in canned hunts for inclusion in its record books as well as in its award categories.
Canned hunting in the news
In 2005, internet huntingInternet hunting
Internet hunting is the practice of hunting via remotely controlled firearms that can be aimed and shot using online webcams. The first internet hunting website, Live-Shot.com, was created in 2005 by John Lockwood, who saw it as a way to provide an authentic hunting experience for disabled persons...
became a major news story when a man in Texas set up a webcam and remotely controlled gun to allow hunters to shoot from their computers. According the Humane Society
Humane Society
A humane society may be a group that aims to stop human or animal suffering due to cruelty or other reasons, although in many countries, it is now used mostly for societies for the prevention of cruelty to animals...
, most internet hunts involve game ranches where animals are kept penned, making them essentially canned hunts.
On August 15, 2006, Troy Gentry, half of the country music singing duo Montgomery Gentry
Montgomery Gentry
Montgomery Gentry is an American country music duo composed of vocalists Eddie Montgomery and Troy Gentry. The two began performing in the 1990s as part of a band which also included Eddie Montgomery's brother John Michael Montgomery, and founded the existing duo in 1999.Signed to Columbia Records,...
, appeared in federal court in Duluth, Minnesota
Duluth, Minnesota
Duluth is a port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the county seat of Saint Louis County. The fourth largest city in Minnesota, Duluth had a total population of 86,265 in the 2010 census. Duluth is also the second largest city that is located on Lake Superior after Thunder Bay, Ontario,...
charged with canned hunting. Federal prosecutors allege that Gentry bought a bear named "Cubby" from Lee Marvin Greenly, then shot the tame bear while it was in an enclosed pen, tagged the bear as if it had been killed in the wild, then arranged for the editing of a videotape of the alleged "wild" kill. Gentry and Greenly are said to face a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison and a $20,000 fine if convicted. On November 27, 2006, Gentry pleaded guilty to a charge of falsely tagging the bear. Under the plea agreement, he agreed to pay a $15,000 fine, give up hunting, fishing and trapping in Minnesota for 5 years, and forfeit both the stuffed bear and the bow used to shoot the animal in 2004. Gentry posted a statement on the duo's website on November 9, 2010, apologizing for his actions.
Another less well-known incident occurred two years prior to the Dick Cheney hunting incident
Dick Cheney hunting incident
The Dick Cheney hunting incident occurred on February 11, 2006, when then U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney shot Harry Whittington, a 78-year-old Texas attorney, while participating in a quail hunt on a ranch in Kenedy County, Texas...
when the vice president participated in a canned hunt at the Rolling Rock Club in Ligonier Township, Pennsylvania
Ligonier Township, Pennsylvania
Ligonier Township is a township in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States. Ligonier Township entirely surrounds, but does not include, Ligonier Borough, which is a separate municipality...
. Cheney and nine companions killed 417 out of 500 ringneck pheasants, of which the Vice President himself is credited with killing 70, and an unknown number of mallard ducks.
In South Africa, the Minister of Environmental Affairs, Mr. Marthinus van Schalkwyk
Marthinus van Schalkwyk
Marthinus Christoffel Johannes van Schalkwyk is the Minister of Tourism in the Cabinet of South Africa. Formerly both Premier of the Western Cape and Leader of the Opposition in the Parliament of South Africa, he was the leader of the New National Party from its inception on 8 September 1997 until...
, recently announced new laws to stop the practise of "canned hunting" in his country. South Africa environment minister announced long-awaited restrictions on lion hunting, declaring he was sickened by wealthy tourists shooting tame lions from the back of a truck and felling rhinos with a bow and arrow. This comes in response to the embroglio created over the potential canned hunt of the African rhinoceros
Rhinoceros
Rhinoceros , also known as rhino, is a group of five extant species of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. Two of these species are native to Africa and three to southern Asia....
'Baixinha.'
Dismissing threats of legal action by the hunting industry, Marthinus Van Schalkwyk said the new law would ban "canned" hunting of big predators and rhinos in small enclosures that offer them no means of escape.
In addition, lions bred in captivity would have to be released into the open for at least two years before they could be hunted. Van Schalkwyk said a previously proposed six-month delay would not give lions enough time to develop self-defence instincts.
"Hunting should be about fair chase ... testing the wits of a hunter against that of the animal," he told a press conference. "Over the years that got eroded and now we are trying to re-establish that principle."
In May, 2007 a much-reported hunting trip involved the killing of 1,051 pound pet pig in an alleged canned hunt. The pig was deemed "Monster Pig
Monster Pig
Monster Pig was a controversial 2007 story that initially ran in the news media as a report of an eleven-year-old boy shooting a giant feral pig. The pig was claimed to have been shot during a hunt on May 3, 2007 by an eleven-year-old boy named Jamison Stone...
" by the media and it was believed that the pig was a feral hog. It was soon discovered that the pig, previously named "Fred," had been someone's pet and was then sold to a hunting facility only a brief time before he was killed. On May 3, paying customers Mike Stone and his 11-year-old son, Jamison, hunted him in a 150 acre (0.607029 km²) fenced enclosure. Jamison shot Fred a total of eight times over a period of three hours.
A June, 2007 story on CNN detailed canned hunting in South Africa and includes a video of a canned lion hunt where the animal is shot against a fence.
In Popular Culture
The title song from the album Countdown to ExtinctionCountdown to Extinction
Countdown to Extinction is the fifth studio album by the American heavy metal band Megadeth. It was released on July 14, 1992 through Capitol Records. Countdown to Extinction is Megadeth's best-selling album, eventually achieving double platinum status...
by Megadeth
Megadeth
Megadeth is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California which was formed in 1983 by guitarist/vocalist Dave Mustaine, bassist Dave Ellefson and guitarist Greg Handevidt, following Mustaine's expulsion from Metallica. The band has since released 13 studio albums, three live albums, two...
, is about canned hunting..
The 2004 book Lord of the Kill by Theodore Taylor
Theodore Taylor (author)
Theodore Taylor was an American author of more than 50 fiction and non-fiction books for young adult readers, including The Cay, The Weirdo , Ice Drift, Timothy of the Cay, The Bomb, Sniper, and Rogue...
, follows the story of young Benjamin Jepson, whose father is an animal rights
Animal rights
Animal rights, also known as animal liberation, is the idea that the most basic interests of non-human animals should be afforded the same consideration as the similar interests of human beings...
activist. The book is critical of the so-called "shooting facilities" of the United Sportsmen, and canned hunting generally.