The DNR claimed the Indian deer hunt would be too risky, and were disappointed with Judge Crabb’s ruling.
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The DNR also said in its statement that due to the court’s prescribed timing of the hunt beginning November. 1, they are working to inform the public about tribal night hunting to minimize potential safety issues. “They do have to pass a marksmanship test and do an advanced hunter safety course prior to being allowed to do the night hunt”.
A federal judge in Madison is allowing Wisconsin’s Chippewa tribes to hunt deer at night in part of northern Wisconsin.
Paul DeMain, editor of News From Indian Country, said the Chippewa have long hunted on reservation land and have been getting ready to expand where they can harvest deer. The judge ruled in 1991 that night deer hunting is unsafe and the state ban applies to tribal hunters. The Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission says on its web site there have only been 2 or 3 hunting accidents from night-time deer hunting since 1989.
Tuesday’s ruling was in response to an October 2014 decision by the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, which remanded the case to U.S. District Court in western Wisconsin. The U.S. Supreme Court refused the state’s request to take the case earlier this year, which put it back in Crabb’s hands.
Crabb had ruled in 1991 that night hunting was unsafe and Chippewa tribes were not exempt from a Wisconsin state ban on the practice.
Night hunting is permitted on tribal reservations in Wisconsin.
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The Chippewa asked Crabb to reconsider in 2012, arguing the state must believe night hunting is safe since lawmakers allowed a night wolf hunt and the DNR instituted night shooting programs to slow chronic wasting disease in the mid-2000s.
