This will make you sick...

[John Scifres]

There was a serious lapse of enforcement against cervid shoot operations in the past in Indiana.  We finally got a DNR director that had the guts to stand up to some serious political cronyism and said it was time to end this.  They were never legal.  The problem was there was a lot of wink and turn a blind eye going on.  Bellar is well-connected politically and this battle isn't over.  There have been repeated efforts by politicians to get regulation over cervid shoot facilities handed over to the ag folks as a livestock operation.  So far it has been successfully battled.  Thankfully, we have some pretty big political fish to fry here outside of this arena so maybe it will eventually fade away.

Houston killed that deer eventually and had his livestock kill on his website prior to Bellar's disgrace.  He's a bigger idiot than I ever imagined.  He testified in the trial.

[bayoulongbowman]

Jim Houston shame on you , and I thought you were the sportsmans friend...thats some kind of sad...

[shootrmn]

Can you say "some one needs an ass kickin"?

[Todd Weldon]

You are right I feel sick!!!!! I am ashamed to say that I'm from the same state as Jimmy H and I've always liked him and his shows. Too bad he got caught up in this. That just aint right.
And he even bleated like he was trying to get that buck to stop for a shot. If that wasn't so sickening it would be halarious.

I'm officially down with Jimmy H and anyone else involved in this.....

Todd

[vermonster13]

You should have seen the tap-dance he and his agent went through when we called him out on this. ESPN still airs his show though.

[MI_Bowhunter]

I heard about the Jimmy Houston incident but  I didn't realaize just how small of a pen they were talking about.   I have just lost the sliver of respect I still had for the man.

There was an HBO special several years ago about poaching in the US, America Undercover. It showed similar kinds of events.  Some showed shooters getting ready and pulling the trigger as the animals were released from cages.  

It's sickening.  These people probably brag about the "great hunt" they had.  These guys should be thrown in to a cage match and see how they fare.

[John Scifres]

In addition to Houston, Ronnie Dunn of Brooks and Dunn, the country music duo, visited Bellar's Place.  It was Dunn's first deer hunt.  He killed this deer:
  His 17 year old son also killed a deer.  If you take your kids canned hunting, you won't have to can your kids.  Or something like that   :(  

Dunn testified at the trial.

[Mockingbird]

I just sent a copy of the link to the video to virtually everyone on my "contacts" list, hunter or no, with the following explanation:

All,

If the link below doesn't work, copy and paste it into your browser window. This video has do do with "high-fence" killing of deer. Proponents call it high-fence "hunting", but this is NOT hunting! It has NOTHING to do with ethical hunting and fair chase, which gives the animal opportunity to detect and evade the hunter, something they are VERY good at. An ethical hunter seeks game on its own territory, where it has plenty of escape routes, the opportunity to get your scent, hear you, or see you, and escape, which happens often. These deer learn from their experiences, and become progressively wiser and harder to hunt, a challenge that real hunters enjoy. High-fence killing traps the deer in an enclosure it cannot usually escape, and its murderer virtually shoots at will, sometimes paying tens of thousands of dollars to do so. Sometimes, the trapped deer are also drugged or sick, making them even easier prey. Sometimes, by whatever means, some of the sick deer do escape, to spread disease through the healthy herds in the wild.

High-fence killing is an abominable practice, and decent, fair hunters get tarred with the same brush as these monsters. Please contact your Congressmen and senators, both state and federal, and urge them to bring these places down. Even if you don't hunt, real conservationist groups like the National Wildlife Foundation or the Isaac Walton League certainly have to be against this practice. Find and join any one of these groups that suits you and works against this awful thing, and add your voice to theirs. Thank you.

 http://real-hunters.com/full.swf

[vermonster13]

Bellars place has some very large enclosures that could be construed as hunting. Houston slaughtered his in a 6 acre pen, no misconceptions there.

[Tom Leemans]

If that doesn't make you want to puke, there's something seriously wrong with you. I never liked ol' Jimmy before. Now I have a reason to hate him and I don't like hating people. I'd like to see him giggle with no ^%&$@# teeth.

Greed is a horrible horrible thing. I believe it is the origin of all of the deadly sins. It's a shame that a simple, well intentioned record keeping body such as Boone & Crockett and Pope & Young had to become the standard by which these greedy people had to measure themselves against other greedy people with, when it was supposed to be used to record the animal. Those without strong morals or wills have become trophy junkies. Anything to get their fix. They justify it in their own minds by "killing it themselves".

Shoot a "Monster/Book/Record" animal = fame & $$$. Two things the greedy people love most. The topic of eliminating record books and such has been kicked around before and beaten to death. I'd love if it were illegal to profit from the taking of a wild animal but how are you going to enforce that? Hell, I've even bought the videos, mainly just to look at the nice deer. I could care less about the kill. I guess I'm just an enabler.  :rolleyes:   Land prices in the midwest have been rising at an alarming rate because there's big money to be made in hunting trophy animals. I hate to tell Joe Schmoe that he can't earn a living but maybe it's time we (the hunting public and wildlife enforcement) actually bite the bullet and do what we all know needs to be done to stop this crap.

[vermonster13]

Take a look at these bucks if you want an idea of whats growing behind the fence. The antlers alone from these bucks have sold for 100s of thousands to collectors and "hunters" who have them mounted to on other bucks (a trophy to be proud of in the office).    

 http://www.trophyclassdeer.com/genetics.htm

[Tom Leemans]

Yep, and one or more of those deer or the doe they are bred with will get sick and then all he** will break loose....again.

I'm sorry folks but the days of naturally occurring mega deer (sorry, couldn't think of a proper word for it) will be polluted for a good long while, thanks to trophy management programs. I liken this to organized sports and steroids. We're on they way to where nothing will be pure anymore.

I'm afraid it's time to close the record books folks. The world is far to obsessed with records anyway. None of these deer belong in a record book for their racks, any more than Mark MacGuire (sp?) or Barry Bonds does for hitting all those home runs. The record books were never started with this in mind and, quite frankly, lose much of their credibilty when these deer are included. When stud animals from northern climates are bred with a south texas doe, directly or indirectly, you just ruined the reason for the Pope and Young record book as far as I'm concerned.

I suppose you could argue that it's no different than breeding dogs for profit and that you can't draw a line on deer hunting because then you'd have to draw a line on dog breeding and horse breeding, etc. Well I'm sorry folks but yes you can draw a line. It's time for all of the wildlife departments countrywide to grow a set and draw that line.

I don't know how sharp the ol' fella still is but I'd like to know what Glen St.Charles thinks of this. I bet I have a good idea already.

[eagle24]

I had a hard time watching the entire video.  The whole time I'm thinking, "what kind of sick individual would pay to kill an animal that way?"  It would mean absolutely NOTHING.  How can they sleep at night?

[Tom Leemans]

Like I said in my first post. They become trophy junkies, hooked on the fame it gains them. He'll just have to be infamus and notorius for all the wrong reasons instead now.

[DTS]

The video made me sick.  Has anyone contacted Jimmy Houston about his involvement with this video or has he made a public statement?  I live close to a lot of high fenced property but the smallest one that I know of is 350+ acres.  These guys make a lot of $$$ for their hunts.  Still don't like the high fences but it is legal in Texas.  Actually attended an exotic wildlife auction where the sight of these animals and some of the conversation made me cringe.  It's all about the $$.  On the positive side, at least we know whats going on and can do damage control from our perspective.  God bless.  DT

[BMOELLER]

 PITIFUL!!!

[vermonster13]

DTS, Jimmy was dragged over the coals for it earlier this year. I have some friends on a different site one of which is an outdoor writer for an OK paper and he was friends with Houston before this and was the one who got the actual size of the pen. Houston actually had this buck on his site as a fairchase kill, but couldn't air the segment because they couldn't edit it well enough to cover the drugs. Whoever leaked the footage must have a conscience.

I am all for big tent when those in the tent are actually hunting. This isn't even close.

[wapiti]

Can someone stop the merry-go-round! I need to get off or I am gonna puke. I got my wife into hunting this year, She only has a desire to hunt with a bow and has NO interest in a compound ( I thought if it was easier she would like it more HAH). She lovers her Shakespear and is proud of her 1st kill- a franklin grouse center punched at 25 yds with one of her broadhead tipped arrows. ( oh ya she is deadly folks!) When she saw the video she was silent for several seconds and then asked what do they get out of it? I had no answer that made sense.

[Tom Leemans]

Originally posted by vermonster13:
I am all for big tent when those in the tent are actually hunting. This isn't even close.

So true and when this happens, it needs to be responded to by all the good folks in that tent. These losers aren't welcome in the tent and the public needs to know how we feel.

[Texasrecurve]

High fence hunting is becoming huge business in Texas and I think it is pathetic. I don't care how big your enclosure is, it is still HIGH FENCED!!!