Also Prohibits Use Of Motion Tracking Cameras To Monitor Game Animals

New regulations passed last week by the Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission would prohibit hunters from using drones to film their hunts or track the animals they are hunting.

The Independent Record newspaper reports that the Commission passed the new regulations in response to concerns raised by wildlife managers about "fair chase" standards and ethics.

Phil Kilbreath with FWP’s enforcement division told the commission that the state's existing regulations regarding the use of technology and vehicles were "vague". Concerning drones, the regulations stated: “The use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) for the purposes of hunting is prohibited.”

But Kilbreath told the commission that there have been many questions about using drones to film hunts of for scouting. The new regulations expressly prohibit the use of UAVs to pursue or drive animals to a specific area, or to locate animals on the same day as a hunt takes place. Filming a hunt is also prohibited.

That last provision stemmed from the challenge of discerning between a drone being used to pursue an animal or simply for the purpose of filming a hunt.

The amended regulations also prohibit a hunter in Montana from possessing "Remote operated camera or video devices capable of transmitting real time information, pictures or videos, seismic devices, thermal imaging devices, satellite and radio telemetry devices.”

(Image from file)

FMI: Source report