Idaho moves to bar drone use by hunters

Idaho will move to explicitly ban the use of drones in hunting to locate, track or flush out game under a change recommended by state Fish & Game officials.

The wildly popular devices currently meet definitions for aircraft and motorized vehicles, the use of which by hunters is already restricted. Animals spotted and located from the air may not be hunted for 24 hours.

The state Fish & Game Commission “has heard from many sportsmen that they are concerned that unmanned aerial vehicles are not held to the same hunting restrictions already in statute for aircraft and motorized vehicles,” Fish & Game deputy director Sharon Kiefer told the Senate Resources & Environment Committee Monday.

Kiefer said Fish & Game has received reports of drone use from hunters but has not independently witnessed such activity.

“If you read the media about these things, their recreational use is growing and growing and growing,” Kiefer told the committee. “We’re just actually trying to get ahead of the game a little bit.”

The committee voted unanimously to move the draft legislation on for subsequent hearings.

This story was originally published January 25, 2016 at 3:02 PM with the headline "Idaho moves to bar drone use by hunters."