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Utah House passes bill allowing domesticated elk harvesting after heated debate over wildlife and property rights
Summary
After hours of debate and two failed amendment attempts, the Utah House approved Senate Bill 45 to permit commercial harvesting of domesticated elk in enclosed areas, with regulators and industry left to set rules on permits, fencing and animal identification. Vote: 47–22.
The Utah House on Feb. 17 approved Senate Bill 45, allowing the commercial harvesting of domesticated elk in enclosed areas and directing rulemaking authority to state agencies, after a lengthy floor debate that exposed sharp divisions over wildlife migration, private property rights and the ethics of what opponents called captive shooting.
Supporters, led by sponsor Representative Steiler, argued the bill helps rural economies and brings a new agricultural/tourism market to Utah. Steiler said the measure ‘‘adds the elk to domesticated crops that can be grown as any other’’ and stressed that the industry is already highly regulated by the Department of Agriculture and that health and disease risks would be…
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