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Paul Reynold’s piece in the Bangor Daily News on the use of trail cameras by hunters addresses a growing concern among not only sportsmen, but also among the wider community’s perception of the sport of hunting.
The answer is simple: I think the use of these devices, especially multiple arrays of “live” cameras, which can track game movements in real time and feed this information back to hunters who may be sitting at home watching screens, is not “fair chase” nor is it in any sense ethical.
There is nothing in the DNA of wild creatures such as deer or black bears that allows them to sense danger in electronic devices strapped to trees, the way their natural senses can be alerted by the presence of a hunter.
Trail cameras are great for recreational watching wildlife in its natural habitat, but I believe that reliance on them to locate, track and ultimately kill game is an abuse by individuals who should be out in the field “hunting” for their quarry. Any game harvested primarily by their use is a hollow achievement, and their use during the hunting seasons should be illegal in Maine as it is in an increasing number of states.
Jerry Stelmok
Atkinson
