Canned hunt

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A canned hunt is essentially a trophy hunt where the customer is guaranteed a kill by the simple expedient of the hosts pre-capturing the animal, and releasing it into an area where the hunter can take a shot at it, such as in a fenced-in area.

1 Practice
2 Legislation
3 Criticism
4 Canned Hunting in the News
5 Canned hunts in fiction
6 Notes
7 External links

[edit] Practice

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[edit] Legislation

In the United States Senate, a bill has been introduced by Frank Lautenberg to restrict certain activities related to canned hunting. The legislation, entitled the 'Sportsmanship in Hunting Act of 2005,' includes 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.^[1]

[edit] 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 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.^[2]

Some hunting groups, especially those who focus on hunters' ethics, also object to canned hunting.^[3] 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.

[edit] Canned Hunting in the News

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.^[4] Gentry and Greenly are said to face a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison and a $20,000 fine if convicted.

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.^[5]