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Saturday, August 27, 2005

Ind. Gov't. - More today on Indiana deer; non-attorney misidentified in several stories

The Fort Wayne Journal Gazette has a story today by Phil Bllom, Outdoors editor, headlined "Deer herd sale subject of indictment: South Bend-area man to admit role." Some quotes:

A South Bend-area man intends to plead guilty Monday in federal court to illegally capturing more than 30 deer near Potato Creek State Park and selling them to a game ranch in Texas.

Paul D. Papczynski, 49, of Lakeville, has been charged with a one-count violation of the federal Lacey Act, which prohibits the interstate commerce of fish and wildlife taken in violation of state law. * * *

Papczynski states in court documents that for years, including 2000, he maintained a herd of white-tailed deer behind fences on property he owns near Lakeville. He also states that he built the herd by taking in injured deer or capturing other deer around Potato Creek, some of which were captured using tranquilizers.

Papczynski also states in the documents that he took eight to 12 adult white-tailed deer and at least 15 white-tailed fawns in 2000 knowing that it violated Indiana law.

Later that year, Papczynski was contacted by James Anderton of Quinlan, Texas, and agreed to sell Anderton some of the deer. He sold the deer to Anderton for at least $4,000, Papczynski said in the documents.

Papczynski states that he knew the deer were required by Indiana law to be tested for tuberculosis before being transported across state lines. He admits in the documents that the deer he sold to Anderton were not tested and further states that just before the deer were being loaded onto a trailer in October 2000 that Anderton shaved hair off the necks of the deer to make it appear they had been properly tested for tuberculosis. * * *

The case is assigned to assistant U.S. District Attorney Donald J. Schmid, who also prosecuted the case against Russell G. Bellar this year in which Bellar pleaded guilty to three counts of an original 38-count federal indictment accusing him of violating federal drug and wildlife laws on his high-fenced deer facility near Peru.

Bellar was sentenced in May to 12 months and one day in prison, two years of supervised release, and ordered to pay more than $570,000 in fines, restitution and other court-related fees.

Schmid said the investigation leading to the charge against Papczynski was “a separate discovery” from the Bellar case. Schmid said there is an ongoing investigation but declined to comment on charges against anyone but Papczynski.

There are about 350 deer or elk farms in Indiana. Of those, 225 have DNR-issued game breeder’s permits to breed and sell white-tailed deer. The remaining farms have elk and other exotic deer species.

About a dozen offer hunting opportunities, but DNR director Kyle Hupfer announced Aug. 12 that killing white-tailed deer inside high-fenced enclosures is not legal under a game breeder’s permit. Hupfer also issued an emergency rule making it illegal to hunt elk, zebra, red deer and other exotic mammals.

Rodney Bruce, who operates a high-fenced shooting facility in southern Indiana, filed a lawsuit in Harrison County on Thursday to overturn Hupfer’s ban.

The Louisville Courier Journal has a story today on the Bruce suit (see also this ILB entry from yesterday). A quote:
Donald Blinzinger, the attorney representing Bruce, said in an interview yesterday that Natural Resources did not have the authority to issue the emergency rule.
However, Mr. Blinzinger, who headed the state department of welfare during the Orr administration, is not an attorney -- the Journal story is in error on this point.

[Update 8/29/05] Another story today in which BoseTreacy lobbyist Don Blinzinger is erroneously identified as an attorney -- this time in the South Bend Tribune:

CORYDON, Ind. (AP) -- The operator of a deer hunting preserve has filed a lawsuit seeking to stop a proposed ban on canned hunts.

The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in Harrison Circuit Court in Corydon, contends that the Indiana Department of Natural Resources exceeded its authority by planning to enforce a ban on deer hunts within enclosures beginning next year. DNR Director Kyle Hupfer announced the move earlier this month.

"It is surprising and incomprehensible that the new director of DNR has out of the clear blue sky issued a pronouncement that they (hunting preserves) are 'illegal,'" Indianapolis attorney Donald Blinzinger, who represents the Indiana Deer and Elk Farmers' Association, said Thursday in announcing the lawsuit.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on August 27, 2005 09:21 AM
Posted to Environment | Indiana Government | Indiana Law