American liberty at risk: elk rancher Rex Rammell watched Idaho's state government trample his private property rights, and he is issuing a wake-up call to all Americans that their freedoms are imperiled.

Imagine an America where anything unpopular is against the law. Not necessarily because it is causing harm, but because a group is offended. Someone could start the criticism with lies, wave the rally flag, and ride a wave of emotion to get the majority against the activity until the law was changed to prohibit it. Imagine all the things which could become unpopular, and consequently unlawful, if the majority ruled.

Fortunately, America has a Constitution with a Bill of Rights. The Founders realized that majority rule must be limited to preserve individual liberty. "A Bill of Rights," wrote James Winthrop, "serves to secure the minority against the usurpations and tyranny of the majority." Unfortunately, we are gradually losing our fights to ambitious bureaucrats in government who think nothing of using the power of government to destroy people. I know, because it happened to me.

I am a veterinarian who specializes in raising elk for my livelihood, on my 248-acre ranch near St. Anthony, Idaho. All my elk are tested yearly for both TB and brucellosis. Any elk that dies on my property, whether naturally or by hunting, has its brain tested for chronic wasting disease (CWD). I have faithfully followed those state-issued requirements. The last thing I want is a disease harming my animals and destroying my livelihood.

Ranch elk genetics all originate from Yellowstone National Park elk. In order to reduce populations, the park gave elk to individuals and state Fish and Game departments beginning in the 1930s. Unlike wild elk where inbreeding of fathers to daughters and brothers to sisters occurs, elk ranchers carefully breed their animals for desirable traits and to prevent inbreeding. I breed for trophy antlers. Others breed for meat. Like any business, we follow the capitalist system of supply and demand, using what fits our individual operations.

Elk ranching is unpopular with a certain group of people. These animal rights activists believe elk ranches are reprehensible, akin to raising mink in cages for fur. To rally the majority, these activists create imaginary horrors of disease and genetic pollution. The misinformed believe their lies. The real truth is these people will stop at nothing, including violating private property rights, to gain their cause.

Idaho Governor Jim Risch believed the lies. Through an unconstitutional delegation of executive authority, and motivated by illegitimate reasons, he ordered elk that escaped from my ranch to be killed, violating my private property rights. There was no public-health emergency granting him authority to order my elk killed. Fortunately, with the help of my family and friends, 50 elk have been recaptured. If not for the actions of the government, we would have caught them all. To date, 32 head have been slaughtered, four with grain in their mouths at the opening of my capture pen. I was arrested trying to stop Idaho Fish and Game Department's employees and hired guns from killing my elk as the elk returned to my private land. I find it a paradox that I was arrested trying to protect my property from government theft.

Idaho code, 25-3705A(3) reads, "Any domestic cervidae [members of the deer family--deer, elk, moose], that have escaped the control of the owner ... for more than seven (7) days, taken by a licensed hunter ... shall be considered a legal taking." This statute was actually sought in good faith by the elk ranchers should a hunter accidentally kill an escaped ranch elk. We never agreed that the law should be perverted into allowing an open season on escaped elk. But that is just how Governor Risch used this law.

By statute, ranch elk are deemed livestock with absolute property rights, whether inside or outside the fence. Anyone who lives around livestock knows that it is not uncommon for cattle, horses, sheep, and other livestock to get out of their enclosures. When that happens, it's normal for neighbors to assist in getting them back inside their fence. No federal case is made of it. Elk ranchers have the same rights as cattlemen or horsemen when their animals escape. Escaped livestock do not suddenly become public domain, but remain the property of their owners. Governor Risch's cattle, for example, recently escaped their pasture but none was shot. Yet, the governor ordered both Idaho Department of Fish and Game and private hunters to kill my elk when they escaped. Moreover, he excused them from liability.

This isn't just about elk ranches but American liberty. It's about the future of basic inalienable rights for all Americans. Government will trample on these rights if we allow it. Today it is Rex Rammell's fight. Tomorrow it will be yours!.

by Rex Rammell, DVM, MS