As if going out into the woods using a pack of dogs to track, find, chase down, and terrorize a bear until he or she climbs up a tree or cowers in a corner long enough for the hunter following on foot to walk up and shoot isn’t “fun” enough, the California Department of Fish and Game intends to allow hound hunters to add high tech equipment to their repertoire.
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Specifically the Department (at the behest of a tiny minority of Californians who hunt bear with hounds) proposes to allow hunters to use global positioning systems (GPS) and “tip switches” on dog collars. For those of you not familiar with these devices (or are in disbelief and think I can’t be saying what you think I’m saying), the use of GPS technology allows hunters to better track the hunt by vehicle, and “tip switches” or “treeing switches” alert the hunter when the dogs raise their heads to look at a treed bear.
Seriously.
At a time when state and national trends demonstrate that hunting is on the decline and when state budgets preclude adequate enforcement of existing hunting regulations programs, the Department wants to stack the deck a little bit more against wildlife.
Here is the real kicker. It has been argued that the primary reason hunters want to use GPS equipment is to help locate lost hunting dogs and that it has nothing to do with making bear hunting easier. Right. Because someone who is really concerned about their dog sends them out in the woods and pits them against a bear. But that’s a risk the hunters are willing to take. I guess if the dog gets lost before you get your bear it’s a wasted investment.
It gets even crazier. It also has been suggested that using GPS will somehow combat bear poaching, because the Department has proposed that all hound hunters who use GPS will be required (yeah, “required” there’s that enforcement issue again), to provide the Department with their GPS frequencies and keep their GPS data for 24 hours after each hunting trip. The theory being if a bear is poached (killed without a license or for only its gallbladder) then Wildlife agents can use the frequencies to help determine who killed the bear.
However, this assertion ignores the clandestine nature of poaching. Bear poaching by definition is conducted by individuals who do not follow hunting regulations. It is therefore highly unlikely that an individual interested in poaching bear will comply with any requirement to provide GPS information to wildlife law enforcement.
Moreover, for GPS to be useful for law enforcement it must be assumed that the wardens would be capable of receiving the transmissions and recording them. This may be impossible without first installing receivers through the black bear hunting range in order to record all the GPS movement and then devise a method for powering the receivers. This seems costly and impractical.
So what we are really left with is this: GPS will make bear hunting easier and presumably more “fun.”
In case you’re wondering, here is what bear hunting with hounds looks like:
[video:youtube:VNhg4n3ihP8]If you want to comment on this proposal, especially if you live in California, you should get your comments in no later than April 19th. Email comments to the Fish and Game Commission at FGC@fgc.ca.gov.
Blogging off,
Monica