Deer defender caught on camera
November 10th, 2008 by admin
The Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission reported last week that a man in Bay County was caught on a game camera spraying a deer feeder* with an animal repellant. The hunter who owns the feeder, and the camera, had wondered why deer were not visiting his property.
Florida, like many states, has an odd law prohibiting the “harassment” of hunters, trappers or anglers. Under Florida’s law, it is a misdemeanor of the second degree to “Interfere with or attempt to prevent the lawful taking of fish, game, or nongame animals by another.” Fortunately, the Bay County man escaped with a written warning.
*Hunters, who like to consider themselves “sportsmen,” often forget about notions of fair-chase and use tools like feeders full of corn and motion-triggered game cameras to increase their odds of killing an animal.