Boise, Idaho ? To protect the elk, they’re killing the (other) elk.

Idaho has declared an emergency hunting season for up to 160 farm-raised trophy elk that fled a private game reserve.

Gov. Jim Risch signed a measure Friday bolstering the ranks of state hunters already tracking the escaped elk. He says Idaho’s wild herds need to be protected against the “genetic pollution.”

Wildlife purists in Idaho say that mixing native and farmed elk populations could facilitate the mutual transmission of illnesses.

So far, 15 elk that escaped from Rex Rammell’s Chief Joseph hunting preserve have been shot. Rammell claims his elk are genetically superior to the wild herds, and that state officials are trampling his private property rights. He vowed to sue the governor, the Department of Fish and Game, and any individual hunters who kill one of his elk.