Judge to hear arguments over night deer hunting

MADISON, Wis. (AP) - A federal judge is scheduled to hear arguments over whether the Wisconsin Chippewa can hunt deer at night.
    
U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb two weeks ago declared the state's ban on night deer hunting extends to tribal hunters, scuttling the Chippewa's request until Wednesday's hearing.
    
The Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission, the organization that oversees the Chippewa's off-reservation rights, last month quietly authorized tribal hunters to hunt at night, known as shining.
    
The OK was given for night hunting in the so-called ceded territory, a 22,400-acre swath of northern Wisconsin the tribes handed over to the federal government in the 19th century.
    
The state Department of Natural Resources has banned night deer hunting for decades out of safety concerns.