Hunting Ethics Considered With Game Camera Regulation

What are your hunting ethics regarding game cameras that transmit live video or photos to your phone? Would you use this technology while out hunting?
Hunting Ethics Considered With Game Camera Regulation

When it comes to hunting ethics and using today's vastly improved technology, especially with game cameras, where do you stand?

Soem folks don't care. Some are in the Old School Camp and eschew use of modern conveniences. Others are early adopters and see no problem with cameras, drones or other technology. And then some are in the middle, perhaps liking some but not all.

I got on the game camera train only a few years ago but love it. I curently have three set up on some land I'm trying to figure out and love getting my SD cards every few weeks to see what's come through. In the last couple of months it's been quiet, leading me to believe it's more of a transition zone. Still learning about the area, though.

Some of the latest conveniences, or advances, or blasphemous horrors to hunting, to come along are the bluetooth and "live action" cameras. These send images to your phone 24/7 and you have a wide variety of options. A couple of years ago in Kansas, during our meals our host would show us different photos from his cameras. Another friend of mine has called game wardens to go catch trespassers and poachers when his cameras sent images to him at home.

Bluetooth capabilities allow you to get close to the camera without actually tromping up to it. They're great for checking images and slipping away. I love both types of cameras. They're great for putting up around home and camp, too, for security.

Are They Ethical?

Some state agencies or commissions walk the line between anything goes and being out of touch. I talked with one agency's rep a few years ago about lighted nocks for bowhunting. His state didn't allow them, and his comment was that once you cross a line then you cross another and another. My take was, and still is, that lighted nocks don't help you hunt or kill an animal but they darn sure can give you a starting point to find the blood trail or the animal. They're a location aid, not a "this will make you shoot better" aid, and there's a difference.

We're seeing that now with game cameras. Arizona is the latest state to grapple with this, with its Game and Fish Commission voting recently to prohibit live-action cameras. The commission also in a previous meeting had prohibited use of cameras within a quarter-mile of a developed water source, but it rescinded that portion of the rule.

This is all in regard to "taking or aiding in the take of wildife." The Arizona commission defines the live-action trail camera "as an unmanned device capable of transmitting images, still photographs, video or satellite imagery, wirelessly to a remote device such as, but not limited to, a computer, smartphone or tablet. This does not include a trail camera that records photographic or video data for later use (such as on an SD card), provided the device is not capable of transmitting wirelessly."

The proposal will go through a 30-day public comment period beginning in July. Any final rule will be presented to the commission at its Sept. 21 meeting for consideration.

What do you think about using game cameras to transmit live video or photos to help you? If you were in a stand and got video of a buck or turkey in another area, would you hustle over there? Or do you hunt that way?



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