Drones, those wildly popular remote-controlled flying devices, cannot legally be used for pursuing, harassing or harvesting wildlife, state wildlife officials said this week.
βWe wanted to time this with the Christmas gift season as a reminder for sportsmen to be responsible with their new giftβ if that gift happens to be a drone, said Dale Hajek, spokesman for the Arizona Game and Fish Department.
Department officials said drones are considered βaircraft,β which means they βcannot lawfully be used for pursuing, disturbing, harassing or taking wildlife.β
Gene Elms, the departmentβs law-enforcement branch chief, said, βThe use of drones for the harassment and sport harvest of wildlife is not only illegal, but it undermines the βfair chaseβ hunting ethic and the very tenets of the North American model of wildlife conservation.β
Penalties for violations could range from fines to revocations of hunting licen-
ses, Hajek said.
He said drones can legally be used to observe wildlife up to 48 hours before the start of a big-game hunting season, but such use must not be done in a way that would disturb or harass animals.
Officials said anyone with information about an individual using a drone to pursue, disturb, harass, or locate wildlife is encouraged to contact the departmentβs Operation Game Thief hot line at (800) 352-0700, or at www.azgfd.gov/thief on the Internet.