Program Approved to Help Terminally Ill Hunt in South Dakota

PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — South Dakota's Game, Fish and Parks Commission has signed off on a proposal to enable terminally ill people to go on one last hunt.

The program allows the Game, Fish and Parks secretary to issue one deer, one antelope and one turkey license to a hunter with a terminal illness diagnosed by a doctor.

The program came at the urging of South Dakota Outdoor Adventure Foundation Director Vern Boer. He was inspired by a bill that passed the North Dakota Legislature last year providing big game and turkey hunting licenses to youth with life-threatening illnesses.

Game, Fish and Parks Wildlife Division Director Tony Leif tells the Capital Journal that the program shouldn't have an effect on the number of licenses issued to other hunters.

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