Michigan Bans Use of Drones to Hunt, Fish

Michigan became the fourth U.S. state to outlaw drone-assisted hunting with a ban that also prohibits the use of unmanned aerial vehicles to harass hunters and anglers. (Photo by Kevin Baird via Flickr/Creative Commons)

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Michigan lawmakers have gotten in front of a 21st Century problem with twin bills that not only ban the use of drones by hunters and anglers to locate quarry, but also bar activists from using the airborne gizmos to harass them.

To be clear, there’s little evidence that many hunters or anglers have been using drones to find game.

Neither have outdoors enthusiasts been by bothered stealth drones whirring overhead, grabbing video footage and transmitting it to the smartphones of activists morally opposed to and intent on ending Michigan’s long tradition of hunting and fishing.

But Public Acts 12 and 13 of 2015 aren’t exactly solutions in search of problems, either, said Sen. Phil Pavlov, R-St. Clair Township, sponsor of one of the bills.

Given the growing popularity and affordability of drones, “we just wanted to make sure we were out ahead of any potential problems,” Pavlov told Patch.com.

Harassing Hunters and Gaming the Game

The bills, which Gov. Rick Snyder signed into law, address some of the same issues that prompted drone-assisted hunting bans in Colorado, Montana and Alaska, Pavlov said. Several other states are considering similar legislation.

“Certain groups are using drones to harass hunters,” Pavlov said, “and others are using drones to game the game system.”

Both activities are potentially harmful in Michigan, where hunting and fishing combine for a $4.7 billion annual economic impact, according to U.S. Fish & Wildlife Services estimates.

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Pavlov wasn’t willing to say one group’s drone use is potentially worse than the other’s, but he offered a stern warning at groups like People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals that “we’re not going to allow intimidation.”

PETA, the world’s largest animal rights group, didn’t show up to lobby against the legislation – or any issue during his eight years on the Great Lakes Natural Resources Committee, Pavlov said.

But lawmakers are watching closely to see how the organization, known for extreme, attention-grabbing tactics, responds to laws that carry both monetary fines and jail time.

In general, a violation of either law is a misdemeanor punishable by up to 93 days in jail and a fine between $500-$1,000. Subsequent violations could mean up to a year in jail. If a drone is used to assist in hunting, fines vary according to the species hunted.

Drones Monitor “Who Is Doing What To Animals”

PETA is all for the ban on drone-assisted hunting, and generally a law that strips hunters of an unfair advantage would be cheered by the group.

But Michigan’s law also potentially limits a key PETA initiative, Kenneth Montville, a senior strategist and spokesman for the organization, told Patch.

Through its skywatch program, PETA is offering “Air Angel Drones” so citizens can conduct their own surveillance of hunting activities. About a dozen drones, first made available in October 2013 for about $325 each, sold in the first 24 hours of availability. Since then, a dozen or so more have sold.

Montville says PETA’s sole interest in using drones is to videotape “who is doing what to animals” in a friendly, informal partnership that helps game and law enforcement officials crack down on the bad actors.

Drones in the sky also tip balance a bit more in animals’ favor, he said.

“It’s never really been a fair chase, when you’re talking about hunters,” Montville said, reeling off a litany of tricked-up gear – high-powered rifles, scopes, ATVs, feeding tube fish lures and “and even camouflage toilet paper” – used by hunters.

PETA’s legal team hasn’t had a chance to review the new Michigan laws, but Montville doesn’t expect the group’s skywatch campaign to be grounded as a result.

Important, he said, is the Michigan law’s provision that UAVs can’t be used to interfere with legal hunting activities. He reiterated that PETA only wants to call attention to illegal activities.

Pavlov isn’t swayed by the reassurances.

“I think it’s very extreme” for PETA to claim that its drone activities are an innocuous offer of help, he said. “We don’t want that activity in Michigan, and that’s why we pursued legislation to prohibit it.”

Sen. Tom Casperson, R-Escanaba, shares Pavlov’s concern about anti-hunting activists. In a statement on his website, he said the law ensures “those who routinely attack hunting are not able to harass or attack hunters for no reason other than to promote their own anti-hunting agendas.”

PETA: Hunting Not for Sustenance, But for Fun

As for that agenda, PETA is unabashedly unapologetic.

The organization morally opposes hunting as “completely unnecessary in 21st Century United States,” and believes that, “if left alone, animals will regulate their own numbers based on predator-prey relationships,” Montville said.

“Hunting is cruel, and it disrupts migration and hibernation patterns and reproduction in animals that mate for life,” he said. “Killing off one doesn’t just kill off one. It kills off entire families, if not entire communities.”

Montville admitted mounting public pressure against hunting is an arduous task in a state that is economically dependent on recreational tourism and places high cultural value on the multi-generational tradition of hunting and fishing.

“This legislation gives us a chance to talk about hunting in the open,” he said. “It’s a completely outmoded concept in the 21st Century and in a first-world country. It’s not done for sustenance; it’s done for fun.

“Use the natural resources for hiking, camping and canoeing rather than sending the message that making animals suffer is fun.”

And in the meantime, poachers and others employing illegal hunting and fishing practices should consider themselves placed on notice, Montville said:

“Our eyes in the sky might be watching and reporting on your actions.”