Drones scare the crap out of me. In the wrong hands these things could be used for all sorts of evil. Poaching, terrorism and invasion of privacy just to name a few things.
Once again, a classic example of one idiot who will ruin it for everyone. I like drones. I use them appropriately and they are a powerful tool of documentary when used appropriately.
Check out the thread "If you like Wyoming, check this out" to see a drone used as it could/should be.
I hope game officials in the state where this was captured, if it can be proven, ticket this idiot.
There was a guy last year harassing a nesting hawk by my place. Game and Fish caught him and confiscated the drone and fined him big time ... can't remember how much.
Harassing wildlife, with or without a drone, ought to be illegal.
Go ahead, make your jokes. There were 2 people from my hometown in New Jersey ,who never came home on 9-11, and 16 from the town where my parents were living in NJ on that day, so forgive me for being a tad concerned.
How so WV? Should guns be fall under the same "They should be illegal for public use." See where I'm going with this? If not, I regress......
Ban this, Ban, that......... Where does this all end?
Its about as bad as arriving in an airport and listening to the constant broadcast that the "Emergency doors are for emergencies only, violators will be prosecuted, stripped, shot on sight"
The fact is some person harassed wildlife with a drone. It's been done a thousand times with cars, planes, etc.
I still can't completely decide how I feel about drones. Wildlife harassment? I can grab a bow, gun or camera and legally go harass wildlife as hard as I want. Logic tells me a drone hovering above an animal is a lot less invasive or traumatic than a couple men on foot. There's probably nothing ethically wrong with droning to/above an animal and filming as long as distance is maintained and no chasing occurs. But heck, the dogs around here chase deer any day they want and it is no big deal. I would love to drone-harass a trespasser, but would likely get shot down in flames.
I live in the perfect place to own and fly a drone. Extremely rural. Scenic. Few homes and fewer powerlines. High hills with long views. If I was a younger man I'm pretty sure I'd already own one. I might own one anyway, just to understand them and play on my farm. Hey seriously...would you bust me for chasing a coyote out of my field with one?
Harassing wildlife, especially in the winter, is and ought to be a crime. I look at animals as a resource no different than a rancher looks at his cattle as a resource ... and if someone did this to my cattle, they'd pay for it.
As for dogs, perhaps it's "no big deal" elsewhere, but I just read yesterday:
"Saratoga Game Warden Biff Burton received three complaints of dogs chasing and killing deer in the towns of Saratoga and Encampment. Police departments in those towns assisted in the investigation and prosecution of dog owners who allowed their dogs to run at large and attack big game animals."
That pronghorn didn't look like he was in the best winter-range ... there's a reason that we don't hunt this time of year. It's because that would be too stressful on the resource.
Drones are great for surveillance of the guy that sits on your property line and shoots onto your private land. He probably needs a little surveillance, or harassment if you want to call it that.
Drones are one of the greatest trespass patrol tools ever invented. Sure you can monitor livestock with one and check coyote traps on your own property, drones are simply a tool, just like an ATV or weapon. Watch the video on the Wyoming thread, the potential applications will make your mind wonder.
