Groups file suit against penning rules

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - The Indiana Department of Natural Resources and director Robert Carver Jr. were named Tuesday as defendants in a lawsuit over the decision to wave state permit requirements for a controversial Greene County “penning” facility.

In penning, large fences are constructed to confine wildlife for the purpose of training dogs. In this particular case, the lawsuit filed by Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF), Project Coyote, and the Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) targets the penning of wild foxes and coyotes.

“As a nation, we have banned dog and cock fighting because of their inherent cruelty” said Camilla Fox, Executive Director of Project Coyote and Wildlife Consultant with AWI. “Like these other brutal blood-sports, coyote and fox penning is unacceptably cruel and should be relegated to America’s dark past.”