Drones for hunting?

[sharkeyb]

According to federal wildlife protection regulations, it is illegal to launch a drone within 100 meters (328 feet) of wildlife. It is almost impossible to fly under this rule. We have a lot of wildlife out there just think about the squirrels in your back lawn!

 

[halifax]

According to federal wildlife protection regulations, it is illegal to launch a drone within 100 meters (328 feet) of wildlife. It is almost impossible to fly under this rule. We have a lot of wildlife out there just think about the squirrels in your back lawn!

Agreed. I get the point, but in practice it's nearly impossible to be in compliance with such a rule.

 

[kpmac]

What about for hunting destructive feral hogs and other invasive harmful animals?

 

[dirkclod]

What about for hunting destructive feral hogs and other invasive harmful animals?

Well in Texas they take them from helicopters.

 

[halifax]

What about for hunting destructive feral hogs and other invasive harmful animals?

Very good point. For invasive, non-native species, absolutely. Here in New England we don't have that problem (yet).

 

[dirkclod]

I manage 30+ hunters on land trust land in New England. Most are ethical and sporting, but over the years I've had them hunting over bait during the season, hunting before dawn or after sunset, using drones, jacklighting, killing non-game species, and more. And I've had to defend them from people making false accusations and interfering with their right to hunt. It's my annual nightmare. I hate hunting season because every problem is a complex problem.

That said, I use my drones under Part 107 to look for poachers when I get a tip or see an unauthorized vehicle near a preserve. The drone has helped me to find poachers twice in the last 6 years. And for ATV trespass, too. It's a great tool for these uses. But there is absolutely no place for drones on the hunter side.

Are you a sworn officer or just work on a preserve. Course we are in differant areas but what we can do here is differant thsn you can do. I was state & Federallysworn but we hate to be in pursuit if we crossed statelines. Here you can hunt over corn now and hogs have no season. They tear up so much farmland not to mention ruin the browse the deer eat they are like rats. Eat good though

 

[dirkclod]

Very good point. For invasive, non-native species, absolutely. Here in New England we don't have that problem (yet).

Here they breed like rats

 

[halifax]

Are you a sworn officer or just work on a preserve. Course we are in differant areas but what we can do here is differant thsn you can do. I was state & Federallysworn but we hate to be in pursuit if we crossed statelines. Here you can hunt over corn now and hogs have no season. They tear up so much farmland not to mention ruin the browse the deer eat they are like rats. Eat good though

Hi D,
No, I am not a LEO, I am a forest ecologist managing 10,000 acres of land trust preserves in New England. We don't have a deer overpopulation problem where I am because the forests are aging out of optimality for deer. Most of my hunters are on the farmlands / early succession habitat that I oversee. I can understand the need for using drones for invasive animals like feral hogs - I have read about the profound level of forest destruction that they do, causing regeneration failures and destroying soil integrity and spreading invasive plant seeds, and I can easily imagine what they do to farmland. So yes, regional concerns definitely matter and I need to be sensitive to the fact that my world is not the rest of the world! Thank you very much, Sir.

 

[closetmonster]

Call 1-800-WILDLIFE (945-3543) is Ohio.

I agree with Dirk. Your best bet (sorry if this has already been mentioned after Dirks comment) is to call the number. The game warden’s will have a better grasp on interpretation of law since they are the ones who enforce it. They might say it’s ok to use a drone to locate game that’s already been shot. I live in Idaho and when I first purchased a drone I looked up about drone use for hunting and the big takeaway was they couldn’t be used in hunting because of the unfair advantage it gives a hunter. In short, call and get info straight from the horse’s mouth.

 

[halifax]

I agree with Dirk. Your best bet (sorry if this has already been mentioned after Dirks comment) is to call the number. The game warden’s will have a better grasp on interpretation of law since they are the ones who enforce it. They might say it’s ok to use a drone to locate game that’s already been shot. I live in Idaho and when I first purchased a drone I looked up about drone use for hunting and the big takeaway was they couldn’t be used in hunting because of the unfair advantage it gives a hunter. In short, call and get info straight from the horse’s mouth.

I know that this is ripe for abuse, but it seems that if drones are used to end suffering, that is a righteous use.

I would be most interested in the findings from calls to game wardens.

 

[dirkclod]

Was one for 25 years but drones wasnt a issue till I retired.
wish I had had one when I was if nothing but to find headlighters.
Cut them off and teach em

 

[dirkclod]

Off topic but would have times we would bring in helicopters ,they would see the spotlight then come down on them with those bright lights and hold them till one of us could get to where they were at.
Got to 2 drunks one nite and they had got in the floorboards.
Thought it was a ufo after them True story. Was funny and hated to take them in but were drunk and had guns Here we are
rural with lots of bean feilds on dirt roads ,we’ll you know the rest.

 

[dirkclod]

I agree with Dirk. Your best bet (sorry if this has already been mentioned after Dirks comment) is to call the number. The game warden’s will have a better grasp on interpretation of law since they are the ones who enforce it. They might say it’s ok to use a drone to locate game that’s already been shot. I live in Idaho and when I first purchased a drone I looked up about drone use for hunting and the big takeaway was they couldn’t be used in hunting because of the unfair advantage it gives a hunter. In short, call and get info straight from the horse’s mouth.

I’ve been out for awhile and hadn’t kept up with the laws but do
know you can’t scout during hunting season with one or take off from WMA. It’s all COE hunting land. That’s not Fair Chase .
But that’s here.

 

[halifax]

I’ve been out for awhile and hadn’t kept up with the laws but do
know you can’t scout during hunting season with one or take off from WMA. It’s all COE hunting land. That’s not Fair Chase .
But that’s here.

I’ve been out for awhile and hadn’t kept up with the laws but do
know you can’t scout during hunting season with one or take off from WMA. It’s all COE hunting land. That’s not Fair Chase .
But that’s here.

I'll bet that you have quite the collection of stories to tell. I have complete respect for the wardens here. They have always been quick on the response and follow through with their promises. IMHO, they are the only people in the state department of environmental protection who actually care about wildlife. Kind regards!

 

[dirkclod]

I'll bet that you have quite the collection of stories to tell. I have complete respect for the wardens here. They have always been quick on the response and follow through with their promises. IMHO, they are the only people in the state department of environmental protection who actually care about wildlife. Kind regards!

Thank you. GW’s are mostly fair or the older ones are but they like other agencies, they have bad ones too. I was a good one

 

[ZippyDue]

100% sure on the ones I found anyway. That’s why I’m requesting assistance. One I am really interested in knowing about is Ohio, because there is a company offering that service, and I’m not sure if it’s legal there.

I'm surprised to hear about this, Wisconsin, as a co-worker who hunts further north on about the same latitude as Green Bay mentioned a guy who advertised to help track and locate any wounded deer via drone. I'll have to search for that later to see if the guy is still in business.

 

[Chip]

So, I take it that most if not all states in the country have laws banning use of drones to hunt animals. Does this not do tremendous violence to the notion that the FAA has sole authority to regulate flights of aircraft and control use of airspace anywhere and everywhere in the United States?

 

[dirkclod]

So, I take it that most if not all states in the country have laws banning use of drones to hunt animals. Does this not do tremendous violence to the notion that the FAA has sole authority to regulate flights of aircraft and control use of airspace anywhere and everywhere in the United States?

no It does not. Your talking about something totally differant. Using a drone or plane to find a game animal hunting is against fair chase laws or is here as far as hunting goes. FAA laws are differant than hunting laws.

 

[Don Testme]

Whilst I am not a hunter and am not going to watch a video on the subject, are your certain that the prohibitions relate to finding a wounded or dead animal?
I ask because I thought the prohibition lies in finding a target to shoot. I recollect someone, or a hunting party, possibly in Alaska, being prosecuted for the use on a drone to find a target.

That's what I thought. Drones can't be used to locate targets. But, finding a dead or wounded one was not mentioned in any videos or drone hunting training videos I have seen.

 

[dirkclod]

That would be in my mind who was doing it. I know here the most of the hunters. If I came up on a group or person using a drone I would know what to check for to see what they where doing.
To a GameWarden it’s easy to tell. If I really was using it to locate a lost deer I would contact my local warden and make them aware of what I was doing. CYA
I have never seen a video on how to hunt animals with a drone.

edit..The OP’s video kinda tells it.