Idaho Fish and Game using lifelike decoys to catch illegal hunters

[Graybeard]

https://www.foxnews.com/great-outdoors/idaho-fish-game-decoys-illegal-hunters

By Michael Hollan | Fox News

If it looks like a moose and it sounds like a moose… it might be a decoy.

In an effort to stop illegal hunters, officials in Idaho are utilizing high-tech methods. Now, people looking to hunt in certain areas will have to determine whether the animal they're aiming at is real or a police decoy.


The decoys are designed not only to look like real animals but also act like them in limited ways. (Idaho Department of Fish and Game)

The Idaho Department of Fish and Game announced that it will be using decoys in areas known for illegal hunting. According to a press release, the department will be using “artificial simulated animals” (ASA) to catch people hunting in areas they’re not supposed to.


The decoys are designed not only to look like real animals but also act like them in limited ways. Authorities will be using decoys of deer, elk and other game species.

The ASA decoys will reportedly be used in areas known for spotlighting, trespassing and road hunting.


“Officers watch the animal and respond if someone violates the law," said Greg Wooten, Fish and Game chief of enforcement. "This tool is extremely important in our effort to curtail illegal activity that is otherwise undetectable.”

Wooten continued, “This is similar to other law enforcement agencies watching an intersection based on reports of frequent instances of failing to stop at a stop sign, or monitoring speed compliance using radar.”


Officers will observe the ASA decoys and take action against any hunter that shoots at one. Offenders can face a fine of up to $1,000 and up to six months in jail. Authorities will also be issuing citations for shooting from a road, shooting from a motorized vehicle and other infractions.

[Lloyd Smale]

they use mechanical deer here to trap hunters. They put them along the road and wait for someone to get out and shoot it off the road (in mi you have to get so many feet off the road in a ditch. I never understood why thats not entrapment. Its about like leaving a box of money sitting outside the bank and arresting someone for robbing the bank if they pick it up. Or sitting a 6 pack of beer outside a bar then arresting some alky for picking it up and driving away with one cracked.

[Dee]

If someone shoots a "real moose" off the road, its illegal to shoot "off the road".
If someone shoots a "stuffed moose" off the road,  its illegal to shoot "off the road ".

I used to get this all the time when quizzed about how I felt about "speed traps".
Are you mad because you were speeding, or are you mad because you got caught?

What do you catch in "speed traps"? ANSWER: Speeders. 

Shooting off the road is illegal. Whether the moose is alive, or stuffed. The shooter already knows that.
Is he mad about shooting off the road? Or is he mad about getting caught?
The issue is "shooting off the road", not the stuffed moose.

There is no season,  limit, or restrictions on hunting "stuffed moose".

[oldandslow]

NM had been doing the deer thing for years, especially in the northern part of the stare where poaching is a way of life for some.

[Doublebass73]

New Hampshire uses robo deer, fake turkeys and fake partridges to catch road hunters. Our law only requires us to be 15 feet off the road to be legal and we're even allowed to shoot from the road if it's a class VI road so it's hard to feel bad for people who shoot from the truck or get out of the truck and immediately take a shot.

[Dee]

Texas has done the same thing for years. Its like a padlock. It doesn't stop thieves, but it keeps honest folks honest.

[Ranger99]

Just me- I never understood "entrapment "

To me,  that's a lawyer word for " I got caught
doing something that I knew I shouldn't be doing "
Used a lot when people are propositioning wh*res,
buying dope, buying alleged stolen goods, etc.

Years back,  I worked with a bunch of men that had
disappeared at the noon meal break, and finally showed
back up a few hours later.  They'd all been snookered
by the old scam of " these televisions came in with no
paperwork, and I'll sell em for $100.00 each.  . "
They followed the guy to the local Sears and he went in
the loading dock with their money in his pocket and
never came back out.
Amazingly,  that happened again at a different place
I worked at a few years later

Of course, they couldn't do doodley squat since they
were buying goods they knew weren't on the up and up

[Ranger99]

Don't do things you know are wrong
or questionable, and likely as not
you won't be arrested and have to
go before a judge