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Creative hunters beware: hunting with UAVs won’t fly

"It's against everything we're taught when we take hunter's safety,
and the ethics of hunting," Darrell Crabbe, executive director of the
Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation, said.

By attaching a camera to a
drone, hunters can locate their prey from the air. The devices can even
be used to move animals from one area to another.

"Of course, with every new technology people try to take advantage and break the rules with it," Crabbe said.

Using
drones for hunting has recently become an issue in the United States.
Many feel the devices give hunters an unfair advantage, flouting the
concept of fair chase.

Section 47 of the province's wildlife
regulations states aircraft can't be used to hunt or spot wildlife. To
ensure it was staying on top of technology trends, the ministry reviewed
its hunting regulations six months ago, after the state of Colorado
began examining the use of drones.

Because Transport Canada
considers the drones, known as UAVs, to be aircraft, the government
feels its legislation is already up to date.

"If you're flying it
for any purposes it is considered an aircraft, and as such then, our
regulations speak to the fact that it's illegal to use an aircraft to
hunt or spot wildlife," Brent Bitter, manager of spatial information
management and modelling for the Ministry of Environment, said.

Bitter
said the ministry's conservation officers have had no reports of drones
being used for hunting in the province. Hunters who use aircraft could
find themselves in court facing fines ranging from $100 to $10,000, or a
maximum fine of $100,000.

Across the border, Saskatchewan's
neighbouring states are also dealing with drones. Unlike the province,
they've opted to reword their hunting regulations. Although aircraft
can't be used for hunting in North Dakota, the state felt the growing
availability of UAVs made it necessary to change the wording of
regulations so that UAVs are specifically prohibited.

"If you
can't do it with a manned aircraft, we're not going to let you do it
with an unmanned one," Robert Timian, chief game warden for North
Dakota's game and fish department, said.

Brian Hoffart, president
of the Outfitters Association of Saskatchewan, said he hasn't heard of
anyone in the province using drones for hunting. However, if it's
happened in the U.S., there's a chance it can happen in Saskatchewan, he
said.

"Usually (when) something happens down there, we're pretty
quick to follow because hunting is a fairly tight fraternity," he said.

That's
not to say UAVs don't have good uses. The Wildlife Federation has
researched using them for habitat mapping, while the Ministry of
Environment is currently testing UAVs for taking aerial photos of
environmentally sensitive areas, or for use during emergencies such as
chemical spills. "They are potentially going to be a great tool that we
can use, but with that again comes people that want to use them for all
the wrong reasons," Crabbe said.