Idaho Senate Bill Targets Bighorn Sheep

Idaho lawmakers on the Senate Natural Resources Committee voted to advance a bill that would require the Idaho Department of Fish and Game to kill or remove bighorn sheep that enter domestic sheep allotments located on federal, state or private land.

The committee voted 7-2 Friday on the bill that Sen. Jeff Siddoway of Terreton says will protect private property rights and Idaho livestock producers.

Siddoway, a sheepherder and elk rancher, wants the state to kill or remove bighorns in grazing areas or certify that the risk of disease transmission from domestic sheep to wild sheep is acceptable.

Opponents of the bill say it will mean killing bighorn sheep to benefit private domestic-sheep operators.

Reprinted from Lewiston Tribune

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