Post by Woody Williams on Aug 26, 2005 7:35:23 GMT -5
Valley Outdoors: Indiana millionaire disregards hunting laws, heads to prison
On Sept. 6, Russell Bellar will go to prison. Bellar, a self-made millionaire, owned a construction company, entertained celebrities, was a member of the state Cervid Council, had political connections, and ran the state's largest deer farm. Bellar was leading the fight to have deer farms and ranch hunting legalized in the state of Indiana.
However, somewhere along the line, Russell Bellar disregarded those laws that he felt didn't apply to him. On May 6, 2005, he was ordered to serve 366 days in prison and pay $575,000 in fines. His permit to run a deer farm was revoked and his days of entertaining the rich and famous at his 1500-acre ranch are now over.
The case against Russell Bellar began in the fall of 2003 when the Indiana Department of Natural Resources began receiving tips about an enclosed 1500-acre deer farm where hunters were killing pen-raised trophy bucks. The IDNR, U.S. Fish and Wildlife and the FDA combined forces and lanned "Operation Orion," an undercover sting operation controlled by the Special Investigation Section of the IDNR. The sting included more than a thousand man-hours, thousands of documents, hours of taped footage, and encompassed ten other states.
Bellar's, a two-mile-square farm known as Bellar's Place, was a complex of high fences, feeding stations, fields, woods and roads surrounding a modern lodge. The farm was promoted as a private hunting lodge where a trophy buck was guaranteed.
The complex near Peru was rumored to be home to 2000 captive deer. It was also rumored that Bellar was disregarding laws regarding hunting in enclosed areas. Among those rules being broken were hunting out of
season, using illegal weapons, hunting without a license, transporting deer parts illegally over state lines and using tranquilizers on deer for the purpose of hunting them.
An undercover officer set up a hunt on Dec. 11, 2003. He spoke with the manager of the farm, Thomas Jones, who arranged a hunt for a trophy buck in a pen. The cost was more than $23,000. On Dec. 12, conservation officers visited Bellar's residence and questioned him about the practices on his deer farm.
Bellar stated that he let people hunt on his farm, but they hunted the entire 1500 acres, the hunters had to be licensed and they obeyed all the laws regulating deer hunting; furthermore, Bellar assured the officers that stands were placed away from feeding stations and that no illegal baiting was taking place.
Bellar also assured the officers that he understood all of those infractions were felonies. A few days later, the undercover hunters stayed a night at the lodge and hunted the next morning.
Jimmy Houston, the popular outdoorsman featured on ESPN Outdoors, was there. Videographers had just finished filming a "hunt" where he had killed an enormous buck within the confines of one of Bellar's "killing pens." Fans of Houston should be interested to know that the trophy buck
had been drugged, driven under his stand, and killed over a feeder. The entire hunt had been staged with the intention of promoting Bellar's Place.
The undercover officers were each given a picture of the trophy buck they were to kill and told that a videographer would film the hunt and later edit it. They were instructed not to shoot the buck while the fence was in the background.
The day of the hunt, the officers were directed to sit in stands inside a six-acre enclosure. A feeding station could be seen from their stands. They were told that the 190-point Boone and Crockett buck had been drugged and was already in the pen and that the other buck had just been drugged and would be turned loose once the hunters were inside the pen. The bucks and a number of does would not leave the safety of the fence, so farm workers had to shoo the deer away from the fence so it wouldn't be in the filming. After killing both bucks, the officers requested that the meat be shipped to an address in Tennessee, a clear violation of the Lacey Act.
The IDNR then obtained search warrants. A long list of hunters were subpoenaed for testimony. Caches of tranquilizers and tranquilizer guns were seized. The drugs used to tranquilize the deer were deemed unsafe for human consumption. In spite of the danger, hunters on the ranch were given the meat from the tranquilized deer. Some of the witnesses for the prosecution included Houston, Ronnie Dunn (singer from Brooks and Dunn), Jeff Wickersham (Dolphins quarterback), and Fred Rowan (CEO for Carter's Clothing Inc.).
Violations included baiting, hunting without a license, using high-powered rifles, killing drugged deer, hunting out of season, hunting over feeders and violating the Lacey Act.
Before the commencement of the trial, Jones pleaded guilty and agreed to testify for the prosecution.
Bellar's attorney called one witness, Bellar's accountant. The defense argued that Bellar's deer were his own personal property and that the state had no right to regulate it.
Before a verdict was reached, Bellar decided to plead guilty. Operation Orion has received little public attention. One reason for the lack of publicity may be due to Bellar's political connections. A business associate of Bellar, state Rep. Bill Friend, introduced Bill 1780, which would place the regulation of deer in the hands of the department of agriculture, to the Statehouse this spring. It was shot down when the Democrats walked out.
During the month of June, the IDNR conducted forums throughout the state to address the issue of deer farms. Although there are honest farmers who have found a niche market in operating deer farms, there are those that exist who seek to exploit deer and hunters.
Canned hunting, like that found at Bellar's Place, is a threat to real hunting. It ruins the image of hunting, it increases the threat of CWD, and it strips away the idea of fair chase. Canned hunting is an ugly form of killing animals under the guise of real hunting.
On Sept. 6, Russell Bellar will go to prison. Bellar, a self-made millionaire, owned a construction company, entertained celebrities, was a member of the state Cervid Council, had political connections, and ran the state's largest deer farm. Bellar was leading the fight to have deer farms and ranch hunting legalized in the state of Indiana.
However, somewhere along the line, Russell Bellar disregarded those laws that he felt didn't apply to him. On May 6, 2005, he was ordered to serve 366 days in prison and pay $575,000 in fines. His permit to run a deer farm was revoked and his days of entertaining the rich and famous at his 1500-acre ranch are now over.
The case against Russell Bellar began in the fall of 2003 when the Indiana Department of Natural Resources began receiving tips about an enclosed 1500-acre deer farm where hunters were killing pen-raised trophy bucks. The IDNR, U.S. Fish and Wildlife and the FDA combined forces and lanned "Operation Orion," an undercover sting operation controlled by the Special Investigation Section of the IDNR. The sting included more than a thousand man-hours, thousands of documents, hours of taped footage, and encompassed ten other states.
Bellar's, a two-mile-square farm known as Bellar's Place, was a complex of high fences, feeding stations, fields, woods and roads surrounding a modern lodge. The farm was promoted as a private hunting lodge where a trophy buck was guaranteed.
The complex near Peru was rumored to be home to 2000 captive deer. It was also rumored that Bellar was disregarding laws regarding hunting in enclosed areas. Among those rules being broken were hunting out of
season, using illegal weapons, hunting without a license, transporting deer parts illegally over state lines and using tranquilizers on deer for the purpose of hunting them.
An undercover officer set up a hunt on Dec. 11, 2003. He spoke with the manager of the farm, Thomas Jones, who arranged a hunt for a trophy buck in a pen. The cost was more than $23,000. On Dec. 12, conservation officers visited Bellar's residence and questioned him about the practices on his deer farm.
Bellar stated that he let people hunt on his farm, but they hunted the entire 1500 acres, the hunters had to be licensed and they obeyed all the laws regulating deer hunting; furthermore, Bellar assured the officers that stands were placed away from feeding stations and that no illegal baiting was taking place.
Bellar also assured the officers that he understood all of those infractions were felonies. A few days later, the undercover hunters stayed a night at the lodge and hunted the next morning.
Jimmy Houston, the popular outdoorsman featured on ESPN Outdoors, was there. Videographers had just finished filming a "hunt" where he had killed an enormous buck within the confines of one of Bellar's "killing pens." Fans of Houston should be interested to know that the trophy buck
had been drugged, driven under his stand, and killed over a feeder. The entire hunt had been staged with the intention of promoting Bellar's Place.
The undercover officers were each given a picture of the trophy buck they were to kill and told that a videographer would film the hunt and later edit it. They were instructed not to shoot the buck while the fence was in the background.
The day of the hunt, the officers were directed to sit in stands inside a six-acre enclosure. A feeding station could be seen from their stands. They were told that the 190-point Boone and Crockett buck had been drugged and was already in the pen and that the other buck had just been drugged and would be turned loose once the hunters were inside the pen. The bucks and a number of does would not leave the safety of the fence, so farm workers had to shoo the deer away from the fence so it wouldn't be in the filming. After killing both bucks, the officers requested that the meat be shipped to an address in Tennessee, a clear violation of the Lacey Act.
The IDNR then obtained search warrants. A long list of hunters were subpoenaed for testimony. Caches of tranquilizers and tranquilizer guns were seized. The drugs used to tranquilize the deer were deemed unsafe for human consumption. In spite of the danger, hunters on the ranch were given the meat from the tranquilized deer. Some of the witnesses for the prosecution included Houston, Ronnie Dunn (singer from Brooks and Dunn), Jeff Wickersham (Dolphins quarterback), and Fred Rowan (CEO for Carter's Clothing Inc.).
Violations included baiting, hunting without a license, using high-powered rifles, killing drugged deer, hunting out of season, hunting over feeders and violating the Lacey Act.
Before the commencement of the trial, Jones pleaded guilty and agreed to testify for the prosecution.
Bellar's attorney called one witness, Bellar's accountant. The defense argued that Bellar's deer were his own personal property and that the state had no right to regulate it.
Before a verdict was reached, Bellar decided to plead guilty. Operation Orion has received little public attention. One reason for the lack of publicity may be due to Bellar's political connections. A business associate of Bellar, state Rep. Bill Friend, introduced Bill 1780, which would place the regulation of deer in the hands of the department of agriculture, to the Statehouse this spring. It was shot down when the Democrats walked out.
During the month of June, the IDNR conducted forums throughout the state to address the issue of deer farms. Although there are honest farmers who have found a niche market in operating deer farms, there are those that exist who seek to exploit deer and hunters.
Canned hunting, like that found at Bellar's Place, is a threat to real hunting. It ruins the image of hunting, it increases the threat of CWD, and it strips away the idea of fair chase. Canned hunting is an ugly form of killing animals under the guise of real hunting.
On a job well done. Now they ought to prosecute that Jimmy Houston character too, as he broke the law also by hunting on Bellar's Place. I think since they commited a crime with a firearm they should never be allowed to own or even touch another firearm as long as they live! 
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