These operations, which are the equivalent of shooting animals in a zoo-like enclosure, violate every principle of fair chase. Many established hunting organizations, including the Boone & Crockett Club, the Quality Deer Management Association, the Izaak Walton League, and the Pope & Young Club, say there is nothing remotely sportsmanlike about these operations. Incentives are high for captive hunt operators to ensure that customers get their trophy, and it's not uncommon for captive hunts to advertise "no kill, no pay" guarantees or boast about their "100 percent success rates." Operators offer the "hunters" a menu list of available animals – whose prices are based on the size of their antlers. Mockingly described as "hornography," this desperate desire for enormous antlers has led to the creation of Frankendeer – deer who have been genetically manipulated to have freakish antlers so unnaturally large, they can barely lift their heads.
It is well documented that these ranches are also breeding grounds for disease, such as bovine tuberculosis - which can spread to livestock - and chronic wasting disease. CWD is always fatal, incurable, and it infects deer, elk, and other cervids. There is no live test for CWD, and its symptoms – including repetitive walking, excessive drinking, loss of coordination, and increased salivating – may not show for several years (if ever). This means that deer farms and captive hunts could have infected deer and there would be no way of detecting the disease. Through escaped animals, and documented nose-to-nose contact through fences, animals on captive hunts can readily spread CWD to wild deer. Because live animals are constantly trucked across state lines, captive hunts are a major culprit for spreading this disease to new areas. CWD has already been found in 23 states, and new cases are discovered every year.