NDIANAPOLIS (AP): The Indiana appeals court has ruled that the state's wildlife agency doesn't have the authority to shut down high-fenced deer-hunting preserves.
 
The court's 2-1 ruling issued Monday says that since state law doesn't prohibit high-fenced hunting the Indiana Department of Natural Resources exceeded its authority when it tried in 2005 to force the closure of the Whitetail Bluff preserve in southern Indiana's Harrison County.
 
The ruling comes as lawmakers are considering a bill that would set up a licensing and inspection process for the preserves where farm-raised deer could be hunted.
 
House Natural Resources Committee chairman Sean Eberhart says the panel didn't vote on the bill as scheduled Monday because members are considering whether legalization should be limited to four existing preserves or opened up to new ones.