Yup, a very controversial issue but I've been thinking about it lately (thinking about the difference between the two). For what it's worth, I've never hunted anything behind a high fence and probably never well. I don't have that much money! Having said that, I'm not against it....to each their own. Mention "High Fence" to a whitetail deer hunter and most of the time you are going to be looked down at like you're lower than whale poo...
But wait a minute, those same guys who frown on hunting a deer behind a high fence have no problem fishing in a pond stocked with fish. Ditto for hunting birds that are released (many states release pheasants) and many guys hunt shooting preserves for pheasants and other birds. Pretty much all of the hunting you see on tv in New Zealand is behind a high fence and many of the "Safari's" in Africa are on game farms. But mention a high fence hunt for a whitetail deer and suddenly everyone has an opinion. I just watched a show where Jim Shockey was hunting elk in New Zealand... Behind a high fence. I think he made a good point on this show...he said sometimes you hunt for the challenge and sometimes you hunt just because it's fun and this hunt was a lot of fun.
So, what is it about whitetails that people see differently? I suppose (for me anyway) a lot would depend on the size of the area fenced in. Is a deer in a 5,000 acre preserve (just throwing out a number there) less of a challenge than a deer on a 200 acre lease where food plots are used to keep the deer home, no one else can hunt, etc.? Just tossing out some food for thought.
If I had an extra $15,000 burning a hole in my pocket (or whatever it is one of these hunts cost), I'm probably going to go chase a moose or a caribou somewhere! But that's just me....