Can You Legally Hunt With a Drone?

A lot of discussions have taken place recently as to drones that are equipped with cameras, and are they allowed or not to hunt animals. In the World of hunting, those UAVs include cameras with video capability to scout and track game, which could be called cheating.

So Can You Legally Hunt With a Drone? Can you hunt with a drone No, but can you use a drone to help you hunt? Absolutely! The drones aren’t here to hunt animals but rather scout or locate them. Regulation is set so that some states have allowed hunting with drones, while some states have banned drones.

Today drones are very widespread in all shapes and sizes, and it is very easy to get them at affordable prices, therefore, it is very difficult to stop a hunter to buy and hunt with a drone. There are hunters that enjoys spot and stalking, and this could make the sport way too easy for those who are less passionate about “the chase.” But many wonder if you can called this a „fair chase“?

Pros & Cons in Drone Hunting

There’s been a lot of debate and forth on drones for hunting and I know people have a wide variety of different options on what they think is right. Some people like to use drones but other use them to capture the footage of the area. As far as a drone being utilized to spot animals or to scout, we have to look at the pros and cons but as far from hunter perspective, they think that you should be allowed to utilize, whatever you think can make you a more successful hunter.

I know that in the past you know folks have utilized airplanes to go around and scout for things so you know for different kinds of animals and species, so I really don’t think there’s much difference in it. If it’s an effective method of helping somebody become a better hunter and it helps the hunting community I’d be all for it. But that’s just my opinion.

Hunting Strategies by Drone

Some hunters use Drones to spot the animals and so they plan hunting strategies. This is done before hunting starts at all. Otherwise, hunting will become too easy. But there are states that have banned the use of drones for hunting such as Alaska and Montana.. These efforts are influenced by the misuse of quadcopters in the sport. Abusing drones in this activity reduces the effort made in hunting and also denies the animals the chance to escape.There are hunters that use gadgets to track the animals using GPS, and once they locate the animals, they immediately head out to get them. Some hunters agree that this is a good method, while others are against it.

Federal Regulation

Tilll now, there are no federal regulations on the use of drones, specifically to hunt game. There are general rules about flying drones by government, but these mostly don’t apply to hunters. On the national level, drones are classified on the basis of commercial and non-commercial use. Commercial flying of drones is an offence, according to the Federal government. Flying the gadgets over 400 feet or in a flight-controlled airspace is also illegal. Drones should never be used near airports or the places where are too many people. What is required of dron’s users by the government is that they have to monitor their drones at all time. With this type of regulation it would reduce the amount accidents and it will protect privacy. But when it comes to national principles, the use of drones in a hunting is perfectly legal. You simply need to stick to the drone regulations given. 

State Regulations For Hunting With Drones

Quite a few states have opted to ban the use of drones due to incidents that have begun to occur in connection with the use of drones for hunting purposes, and Colorado was among the first to conduct this regulation. The reasons why such laws have been passed are that some activists think that such type of hunting is cheating and thus violating animal rights. States that have also joined in banning the use of drones for hunting purposes are Alaska and Montana.

What they defined as drone laws is that they are also called UAS (Unmanned Aircraft Systems). What is good to know is that the laws for the aircrafts also applicable to quadcopters.   It can be said that many states in the US have laws against used drones for hunting purposes. Since drones have only recently appeared on the market, the laws and regulations related to drones are very slow, but laws that have been used since then can be very easily applied to drones.

Destroying the Game of Hunting

Some hunters are simply using their drones to drive the animals towards them, instead of getting out into the woods and hunt them in a normal way. Looking from that perspective, some hunters believe that in this way hunting is losing meaning. What they do is they find a suitable location that is away from the woods and watch the wildlife on their screens. The Drone is flown in such a way that the animals gets frightened and start moving in the direction where hunters are located. A lot of them think this is a bad idea, because it is not considered a hunting. With this you can eliminate the need to go out and get dirty in the fields. Around such things will still be a debate, so we will have to wait and see.

Harassing Hunters by Anti Hunters

Animal rights activists criticise heavily the people who are using Drones in hunting. Some of activists gone so far so they actually watch hunters using drones. What they believe is that they are ensuring animal rights with this law that which forbids hunting animals with a drone Some states classified this as harassment and is a breach on the right of to privacy. Although it is not illegal in all places, it is still an unethical practice. But not only anti-hunters are those who use drones for harassment and hunting, but also other hunters use drones to see if any of their mates used drones in purpose of misusing, which is also wrong .

Drone Hunting Opinions

When it comes to hunting, it is a matter of physical discipline, and you need to use all the possible things at your disposal. Some hunters do not share that opinion However, some think that drones can achieve better hunting results, which they consider to be a piece of equipment. Others think that people who are not able to hunt in normal way by their disabilities or  physical limitations to find entertainment by this way. When talking about such people, we need to know that they are not able to hunt in the normal way, and they will only use drones to locate the prey, and thus feel as though they are still involved in the hunt. But since drones have just entered the game of hunting, it will take some time to to review these things and opinions.

CONCLUSION:

People who are engaged in hunting see this as a new World of possibilities for hunters, as they are using Drones. What drones bring to today’s hunters age is that they can comfortably observe where their prey is and intercept them. You can get completely different perspective when you are observing nature with Drones, and you can’t get that with a binoculars. It would also bring together more people; those who like drones, and those who love hunting, and so it would be all the more interesting. It could also help improve accessibility, allowing people who aren’t as mobile to join the game of hunting.