High Fence Operations and Ethics

FAQ

What is high fence hunting?

High fence hunting takes place on properties enclosed by tall fences—often eight feet or higher—built to contain deer, exotics, or other large game. These properties allow landowners to tightly manage genetics, habitat, and population health while offering hunters a controlled, guided experience.

What are the benefits of high fence operations?

Done right, high fence operations make it possible to keep herds healthy, maintain balanced sex ratios, and give hunters a better chance at success. They also allow for year-round management, stable income, and careful stewardship of land and animals.

Are high fence hunts ethical?

That depends on how they’re run. On large properties—say, a thousand acres or more—animals still move, breed, and behave naturally. The hunts there feel wild and fair. But small enclosures, where animals can’t escape or live naturally, cross the line for most hunters. Ethics hinge on habitat quality, animal welfare, and transparency.

How expensive are high fence hunts?

Prices range wildly—from a few thousand for a good whitetail to tens of thousands for record-class deer or exotic species. Add in lodging, guides, and amenities, and it’s easy to see how these operations became a cornerstone of rural economies.

Few topics divide the hunting world like high fence operations.
To some, they’re a tool for conservation and economic stability—a way for landowners to invest in better habitat, healthier genetics, and consistent management. To others, they represent the loss of what makes hunting sacred: the fair chase, the unpredictability, the chance that the animal might win.

The truth, as usual, lives somewhere in the middle.

A high fence doesn’t automatically make a hunt unethical. What matters is the land’s size, the way animals are treated, and how honestly the operation represents itself. For landowners and managers, the challenge is walking that line—balancing stewardship, opportunity, and integrity.

A high fence ranch is any property enclosed by a barrier tall enough to keep large game inside. These fences aren’t about absolute confinement; they’re about management.

On responsible operations, they serve several key purposes:

• Population control: Keeping herds within sustainable limits and preventing over-browsing.

• Genetic protection: Safeguarding investment in superior breeding lines.

• Disease management: Reducing contact with neighboring livestock or infected wild herds.

• Exotic containment: Preventing non-native species from escaping into the wild.

When done responsibly, fencing gives managers the ability to fine-tune habitat, genetics, and health without losing animals to neighboring properties or highway traffic.

But there’s a line—one that separates sound wildlife management from glorified livestock farming.

The best-run high fence operations resemble miniature ecosystems—balanced, diverse, and dynamic.

Higher success rates: Hunters are more likely to fill a tag, which draws clients, funds conservation projects, and supports local economies. For beginners or mobility-limited hunters, it can make the difference between success and frustration.

Stronger herds: Controlled breeding allows ranchers to select for healthy, disease-resistant animals with desirable body structure or antler growth—without depleting the wild gene pool.

Year-round opportunity: Exotic game such as axis deer, blackbuck, and oryx have no closed season, allowing ranches to sustain operations and staff through the off-season.

Funding conservation: Revenues from hunts often go straight back into habitat restoration, supplemental feeding, water improvements, and predator management.

High fence management, at its best, isn’t about creating an easy hunt—it’s about creating a sustainable, self-contained ecosystem where animals thrive and the land benefits.

Ethics sit at the heart of every good hunt.

The North American Model of Wildlife Conservation is built on the principle of fair chase—the idea that the animal has a real chance to escape.

Here’s where the debate sharpens:

• Large ranches (1,000+ acres): Animals roam freely, forage naturally, and may never even see a fence. Hunts feel authentic, wild, and unpredictable.

• Small enclosures: When an animal can’t flee, or when fences turn the hunt into a guaranteed kill, the spirit of hunting is lost.

True high fence managers know this. They focus on habitat diversity—open meadows, thick cover, natural food sources—and manage herd density to keep behavior wild.

Ethical operations invest in animal welfare, provide veterinary care, and maintain transparency with hunters about the size of the property, the species available, and the methods used.

As Steven Rinella once said in spirit: the ethics of hunting don’t live in the fence—they live in the hunter.

High fence operations have become a backbone of rural economies. Trophy hunts fund jobs, conservation projects, and land restoration that might otherwise be impossible.

A trophy whitetail or exotic antelope can bring in anywhere from a few thousand to tens of thousands of dollars. For many ranchers, those dollars keep the lights on, the grass growing, and the fences mended.

But it’s a delicate balance.
When profit becomes the only motive—when hunts feel canned or animals are bred for unnatural traits—it erodes trust among hunters and the public. Long-term success depends on transparency, fair pricing, and the kind of reputation that money can’t buy.

Each state sets its own rules on fencing, permits, and disease testing. Some require special licenses for high fence properties; others restrict or outright ban certain practices.

Public perception is shaped not by the quiet professionals who do it right, but by the few bad actors who don’t. Overcrowded pens, drugged animals, and falsified records give the entire industry a black eye.

The antidote is simple but hard-earned: honesty, integrity, and respect for wildlife.
Educate hunters. Follow regulations. Manage like the land is your legacy—because it is.

For those who prefer to keep their land open, there are other ways to achieve the same goals:

• Low-fence management: Allowing wildlife movement while using natural boundaries to influence herds.

• Cooperative management: Partnering with neighboring landowners to manage larger, contiguous tracts of habitat.

• Ecotourism: Offering photography, birding, or wildlife tours as non-consumptive income streams.

Each path has trade-offs, but all share the same foundation—caring for the land and its wildlife.

High fence ranching sits at the crossroads of business, biology, and belief. It can either cheapen the hunt or elevate it. The difference lies in intent.

Run with respect, transparency, and good stewardship, a high fence ranch can be a sanctuary—for wildlife, for hunters seeking ethical experiences, and for the land itself.

The challenge for every manager is to remember:
You’re not just building fences—you’re shaping a legacy.