Mark Reid

Calgary Herald Archive / Penned elk could be hunted if game farmers are backed.

Elk and deer farmers will be hunting for support of a practice known as pen hunting -- the hunting of wild game in penned areas -- during a cross-province public relations blitz later this month.

The game farmers will host information sessions across Alberta to try to win public approval for the controversial, yet potentially lucrative "sport."

"This isn't something that will appeal to everyone," admitted Norm Moore, an executive with the Alberta Elk Association.

"And they have the right to their opinion.

"We just see this (pen hunting) as an opportunity for people to make a living in rural Alberta.

"All we can ask is for people to listen to our proposal."

The game farmers, however, will undoubtedly face vigorous opposition from animal rights groups such as the Animal Defence League of Canada.

"Obviously, there's no sport involved here," said defence league spokesman Barry MacKay.

"The pleasure of pen hunts doesn't come from the chase, the pleasure comes from killing. It's shameful that people are so anxious to kill, they'll pay for the privilege." Pen hunting is the stalking and killing of domesticated wild animals in a fenced-in compound.

The compounds can range in size from a few hectares to several hundred hectares.

Many elk and deer farmers in Alberta want the province to legalize pen hunting for their game because some people will pay big money for the thrill of bagging a trophy animal.

Opponents, however, say pen hunting is unethical and as challenging as shooting fish in a barrel.

The elk association will hold eight public meetings between June 26 and July 18 -- including one in Calgary -- to debate the merits of the controversial practice.

Moore said Alberta game farmers already sell trophy animals to hunt operations in jurisdictions that allow pen hunts.

He said about 1,000 elk and deer were sold to hunting outfits in Saskatchewan, Utah, Colorado and Texas last year.

Those animals were sold for an average of $2,000 each. But the hunting outfits then turned around and charged between $8,000 and $12,000 per hunt.

Moore said it makes no sense to sell trophy animals to other jurisdictions, only to have them profit from the many economic spinoffs derived from pen hunting operations.

"That includes their lodging, the guides, the taxidermy work. All of that could be done in Alberta," he said.

Moore said his group wants to listen to the public's concerns and incorporate them into a proposal on pen hunting that will be put to government in the near future.

The pen hunting debate is complicated by the fact the Ralph Klein Conservative government already allows pen-style hunts for several game bird species, such as pheasant, quail and turkeys, as well as hunts for bison and wild boar.

Janice Harrington, spokeswoman for Alberta Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, said the province will not legalize pen hunting for elk and deer unless it has clear public support.

"This government works on a grassroots level," Harrington said. "We want to hear what the public has to say before we examine this idea."

The pro pen hunting forces may have an uphill battle, however, in their hunt for public acceptance.

The Alberta Fish and Game Association, which represents thousands of hunters and anglers, is firmly against the practice.

Spokesman Maurice Nadeau said pen hunts are unsportsmanlike, and he fears all hunters will be tarred by the same brush if the practice is allowed in Alberta.

"The non-hunting public will lump all hunting together as unethical and unfair because of pen hunting," Nadeau said.

There are currently 13 pen hunting operations in Saskatchewan and the industry there is growing steadily. But MacKay said that doesn't justify legalizing elk and deer pen hunts in Alberta.

"The fact it's legal in one jurisdiction doesn't make it right," he said. "This is just another way to capitalize on the blood of animals."

Elk are raised in Alberta for their meat, as well as for their antler velvet, which is sold as an aphrodisiac in Asia.