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Thinking of using aerial technology for hunting?
Think violation! |
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December 1, 2014 |
Man and his technology have come a long way
since Idaho became a state. Hunting today isn't
about survival; it's about pursuing a form of
recreation, a sport. Like all sports, hunting
has its rules.
One of those rules involves using an aerial
perspective to improve one's odds in the hunt.
In mid-October of this year, Idaho Department of
Fish and Game conservation officers came across
three individuals who were attempting to use a
combination of modern technologies to gain an
unfair advantage in their pursuit of wild game.
Their actions not only violated the concept of
fair chase, but a number of actual hunting
regulations.
On October 18, Senior Conservation Officers Tim
Klucken and Josh Leal responded to reports of a
powered parachute flying low over the Mud Lake
Wildlife Management Area, which is located in
southeastern Idaho. On the way to the area,
officers could hear someone giving location
instructions about some deer over the FRS radio.
The officers came across hunters Jake Tanner and
Neil Wood, who were carrying shotguns and who
admitted that they had been communicating with
the person in the powered parachute about
locating deer. It also turned out that Tanner
lacked a tag to hunt deer at all.
Upon further investigation, officers were able
to determine that the individual in the powered
parachute, Braxton Tomlinson was trying to
locate deer hiding in the reeds of the WMA marsh
and then communicate their location by radio to
Tanner and Woods on the ground.
Use of aircraft to locate wildlife and
communicating this information to someone on the
ground is against Idaho Code, and is
specifically mentioned on page 97 of this year's
Big Game Regulations.
Later in Jefferson County Court, all three men
pleaded guilty and were fined $500 with $400
suspended, plus court costs, and sentenced to 10
days in jail, suspended. Judge Crowley also
sentenced them to one year unsupervised
probation and revocation of hunting for one
year.
To learn more about the concept of fair chase,
visit the website of Orion The Hunter's
Institute at www.huntright.org. |
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