Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that authorizes licenses for existing deer hunting preserves and establishes requirements, effective upon passage.

Highlights:

• Authorizes the Department of Natural Resources to issue an initial hunting preserve license to an individual operating a hunting preserve if certain requirements are met, including, but not limited to, the following requirements (Sec. 6):
• The individual operated the hunting preserve during the 2014 calendar year; and
• The individual pays a fee of $2,000.

• Requires a hunting preserve that allows hunting of deer and other “cervidae” to meet certain requirements, including, but not limited to, the following requirements (Sec. 6):
• The hunting preserve contains at least 100 continuous acres in the hunting area;
• The hunting preserve is enclosed by a fence that is at least 8 feet in height and not more than 6 inches above the ground; and
• The hunting preserve must pass an annual inspection by the department and the Indiana Board of Animal Health. 

• Defines “cervidae” as privately owned members of the cervidae family, including deer, elk, moose, reindeer, and caribou (Sec. 1). 

• Prohibits the owner of a hunting preserve from releasing privately-owned cervidae into the wild, and releasing “non-permitted animals” on a hunting preserve (Sec. 6). 

• Defines “permitted animal” as a cervid born and raised in Indiana and released on a hunting preserve by the licensed owner of the preserve (Sec. 6). 

• Requires an individual who hunts an animal on a hunting preserve to obtain a special hunting license issued by the department (Sec. 6). 

• Requires the owner of a hunting preserve to report the escape of a cervidae to the department within 24 hours after the escape is discovered (Sec. 6). 

• Classifies a violation of certain provisions of this bill as a Level 6 felony, including, but not limited to, the failure to report the escape of a cervidae, the improper release of cervidae, and the use of computer assisted remote hunting on a preserve (Sec. 6). 

Full Bill Text