A proposed ballot initiative would prohibit private hunting preserves in North Dakota from taking paying customers to hunt deer, elk and other big game in fenced areas. Critics of the measure said it would violate landowners' property rights.

Secretary of State Al Jaeger said he was reviewing the proposal, which was submitted late Wednesday by hunting supporters who believe it is unethical to hunt within a fenced game preserve.

Jaeger and Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem must draft a short description of the proposal before its supporters may begin gathering petition signatures. The initiative's backers need signatures from at least 12,844 North Dakota voters to put the idea to a vote.

Roger Kaseman, of Linton, who is chairman of the initiative campaign, could not be reached immediately for comment.

Paul Germolus, a Bismarck attorney who is representing the initiative committee, said in a letter to Jaeger that the measure "is designed to end the unethical practice of shooting exotic and native game animals trapped inside fenced enclosures."

"The pursuit of captive game animals does not equate to 'hunting' in any sense of the word," Germolus' letter says. "Rather, it is the mere shooting of killing of animals that lack any means of escape. More aptly described as 'canned shooting,' the practice defies long-standing principles of fair chance and ethical hunting."

Earlier this year, the North Dakota Legislature defeated a similar proposal to ban hunting within fenced preserves, concluding the move would step on the property rights of game farm operators.

North Dakota has more than 100 registered deer and elk farms, many of which offer hunters the chance to come on their property for a fee.

Shawn Schafer, of Turtle Lake, said the measure's language would even prohibit ranchers from raising big game to be butchered and sold for the meat. Schafer and his brother, Clark, operate the Schafer Whitetail Ranch, and Shawn Schafer is president of the North Dakota Deer Ranchers group.

Game preserves offer ranchers the opportunity to use land that is often marginal for farming or raising traditional livestock, Schafer said. The Schafer ranch raises white-tailed deer, which the Schafers sell to a private hunting preserve in Missouri. The ranch does not offer hunts on the premises.

"This really, really infringes upon the private property rights of producers, the farmers and ranchers of this state," Schafer said. "We're able to take that land, fence it in, and offer a service to a customer who apparently must enjoy it. Customer satisfaction will regulate this market better than anything."

Wayne Laaveg, of Park River, the president of the North Dakota Elk Growers, said the state itself has helped finance development of game preserves, through grants and low-cost aid to operators. Laaveg raises elk to sell to hunting preserves, and for meat.

"For somebody else to come in and say, 'Well, we don't like it, so we're going to take it completely away from you, and if you go totally broke and get kicked off your land, well, tough luck' … that is completely wrong," Laaveg said.

The proposed ballot measure is one of four that has been submitted to Jaeger's office in recent months.

Other proposed initiatives would cut North Dakota's income tax rates, require that the state school superintendent be a licensed teacher, and make it easier for a man or woman who is getting a divorce to get joint physical and legal custody of children.