As technology continues to redefine hunting, at least one matter seems settled: Trail camera photos and videos are legally and ethically OK to scout wildlife, but livestream video is not.
Some hunters near Jackson found that out the hard way last year, according to the Wyoming Game and Fish Department’s recently-released 2024 law enforcement report.
The South Jackson region game warden was tipped off to “several instances” of hunters allegedly using real-time photography to pinpoint the location of elk during the hunting season, according to the report.
“The reporting parties in each case felt the actions of the cell camera users were cheating in the hunting process, making the scouting/hunting planning much too easy,” the Game and Fish law enforcement report states.
A judge agreed, penalizing one of the hunters, who was not identified in the report, with a $550 fine for illegal use of real-time photography.
Real-Time Feed Isn’t OK
Game and Fish Wildlife Division Chief Craig Smith told Cowboy State Daily that the Wyoming Legislature several years ago drew a line between regular trail cameras and real-time or live-feed technology.
Traditional trail cameras are set up in remote locations to record photos and videos, sometimes triggered by motion sensors.
Hunters must hike in and physically retrieve the images after the fact, Smith said. By the time those images can be posted online, whatever wildlife they show has long passed.
That’s a far cry from having a live feed sent to a hunter’s cellphone or laptop, he said.
“It boils down to ethics and fair chase,” Smith said.
“It (live feed) gives users a distinct advantage to know exactly where any animal is and at what time,” he said.
In the hunting world, fair chase is broadly defined as hunting in such a manner that animals have a reasonable chance of escape.
Hunter Jeff Muratore of Casper told Cowboy State Daily that he uses trail cameras while hunting deer and black bears but agrees that live feed crosses ethical lines.
“Obviously, with real-time, you know exactly when the animal is there. You’re notified immediately,” he said.
He said he’s glad that live feed is illegal in Wyoming.
With technology increasingly available, there will probably always be a few people who want to push the boundaries, but Muratore said they should face consequences.
“Those people can go before a judge, and that’s how it should be,” he said.
Another way of regarding live feed in ethical terms is that it’s essentially like being able to see through forests, across to the other side of a mountain, or otherwise circumvent line-of-sight barriers that allow animals to hide from hunters.
For similar reasons, using aircraft — including drones — to scout for or spot wildlife while hunting is also illegal in Wyoming, Smith said.
The Advantage Of Trail Cameras
Muratore said that traditional trail cameras can help make hunting more precise and ethical.
“The plus side of trail cams is you know what’s coming in there (to a hunting spot). You can be selective and look for the more mature animals. And that’s a good way to manage wildlife, to take only the mature males,” he said.
Bear hunters try to avoid shooting sows, or female bears, particularly those with cubs, Muratore said.
Even experienced hunters can have trouble determining the sex of a bear if they see it for just a few moments and are tempted to take a shot, he said.
“A trail cam photo lets you really examine the bear and determine the male from the female,” he said.
So, the hunter can know better ahead of time which bears to look for in that area, he said.
Hunter Olin Machen of Cody said he likes using trail cameras not only during hunting seasons, but also to enjoy photos and videos of animals in their natural habitat year-round.
Using trail cameras effectively involves a learning curve, he said.
“There’s certainly an art to placing them that the majority of hunters and nearly all non-hunters don’t really understand,” Machen said.
“Recognizing pinch points that naturally make animals converge is critical, for example. However, when you start to figure that out and really start to get cool videos, it’s quite addictive. Quite expensive in AA lithium batteries too,” he added.
Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.
