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Robotic Deer to Fight Illegal Hunting
Roland Piquepaille writes "If you were a law enforcement official searching for hunters who don't follow the rules, what would be a good gift for you? In 'Robot Deer Captures Poachers,' Brian Bull, reporting from Mosinee, Wisconsin, writes that you can buy robotic decoys for deer, elks, moose and even bears. These life-like creatures are made of animal hides or skins attached to polyurethane foam bodies and equipped with remotely controlled motors allowing the head and tail to move. After you pay about $2,000 for such a robo-deer, you put it on a side road. All you have to do is wait for an illegal hunter trying to shoot the fake deer and fine him. Many officers have reported collecting well over $30,000 in fines with a single robot. Not a bad deal."
But I prefer parking fines since it requires a lower investment and less skilled personnel.
More importantly, they are away and are not carrying a high power loaded weapon.
The truth shall set you free!
Actually Deer hides are relatively valuable, and the butcher will usually sell them. My buddy gets $5-$10 per hide ontop of his butchering charge. Quite nice for deer-skin gloves (typically made in China). As an experienced Northern hunter, I don't know why you think that Bear and Moose hides are easy to come by. They are typically the most regulated game in terms of getting a permit. You may have to wait 5 years to get a Moose permit in some parts of the country, and rifle Bear permits are also granted via a lottery system in Wisconsin and Minnesota.
But to answer your question "why would you even bother?". Well, as a deer-hunter in an area where these 'robots' have been in use for years already, it is often a matter of hunter's safety. The DNR/Conservation Officer will put a decoy in a position where it will be shot at from the road. It is illegal to hunt within 50 yards of a public road's median. Quite a hefty fine. Also, if a hunter is willing to break that regulation, who knows what other rules they are breaking.
'Scuze me for that, I personally consider deer hide to be of a much higher quality than weasel, due to its relative durability.
I agree, but hide is not hair.
I think you'd be surprised at how bold some poachers are, especially in sparsely populated areas.
My cousin was killed in his own suburban backyard by deer poachers.
KFG
I live in Ohio also, was a hunter when I was a kid/teenager, I don't hunt anymore because I have nothing to do with the meat... I personally don't like venison and I won't kill something if it's not going to be eaten. The deer have been over populating most of Ohio for at least 20 years. My family lived on a farm for ~50 years in NE Ohio and deer were a constant problem. They knew the neighbors were poaching deer and they did some themselves and it never even put a dent in the deer problem.
A large portion of the problem is just lack of natural predators.
Shadus
when the state starts using the police as revenue collectors, they are no better then gangsters. tax's are THE only place a government is supposed to make money. buying a device especially to entrap people into paying fines is no better then hitting them for "protection" money. If any hunter had the money to challenge this i'm sure a good lawyer would win it for them.
If you mod me down, I will become more powerful than you can imagine....
and now we're creating a device to reduce the number of the deer's last remaining predator.
Not if they follow the rules. This device does nothing to reduce legal hunting of deer. There's various reasons to regulate hunting, ranging from game management (you can only take so many animals and most of them have to be male) to safety (can't discharge your firearm within X yards of a structure). All this device does is provide a decoy for the violators to shoot at.
Living in Upstate NY and dealing with morons from the city that shoot at anything that moves (hint: diary cows don't look anything like deer yet they are routinely shot...) I think this is a wonderful idea.
I want peace on earth and goodwill toward man.
We are the United States Government! We don't do that sort of thing.
They should be paying them, not fining them. There's way too many deer in the US and not enough predators to keep them in check. Most get killed by vehicle collisions anyway. Deer hunting should be encouraged.
Wansu, th' chinese sailor
What a great idea! Goading hunters to shoot at a target just a few feet/meters of the road where cars pass.
You seem to miss the entire point. This isn't about hunters, it's about poachers. Poachers are people who illegally kill animals, either in the wrong place, at the wrong time of year, the wrong sex, or without having paid their license fee to do so. A hunter doesn't just drive along and suddenly decide "Oh, I think today I shall break the law, since there is a deer standing right over there." The only people shooting at these robodeer, are the people who aren't following the laws. I am having a hard time understanding why so many people in this thread are seeming to confuse hunting with poaching, this isn't a subtle distinction. Hunters follow laws and manage the deer population in the proportions determined by people who know what, where, and how many deer should be removed from the population. Poachers, don't give a shit about the laws or management, they just want free meat without paying their fair share, and without regard for the laws.
If you get the impression that hunters get annoyed at being associated with poachers, then you're perceptive. Two different groups of people.
Destruction of Government Property. Its a felony too, so you just lost your right to vote, pal.
If you cannot ballistically distinguish a deer from a robot, can the robot be considered a deer?
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