I am not a hunter, and can’t say I really have any interest in becoming one. But an article that appeared earlier this month on the front page of the Wall Street Journal – “Internet Hunting Has Got to Stop – If It Ever Starts” – caught my attention.

Zachary M. Seward reports that “33 states have outlawed Internet hunting since 2005, and a bill to ban it nationally has been introduced in Congress.” Furthermore, he notes that California has banned Internet fishing (see reference to “Computer Assisted Remote Fishing” at the bottom of page 6).

What is Internet hunting you ask? In theory my understanding is that for a fee, one accesses a website featuring a live, outdoor video feed. When a deer or other game wanders into the frame on your monitor, you can – with a mouse click – cause a live round to be fired from a rifle affixed to the camera. I say “in theory” because, as the article highlights, there do not appear to be any such sites presently operating (although this hasn’t stopped a majority of states from prohibiting the practice).

Researching the subject earlier today, I see that just last week Illinois became the 34^th state to ban the practice. Also, the federal bill referred to in the WSJ article, intended to ban “computer-assisted remote hunting,” was referred to the House Judiciary Committee earlier this summer.

This post is not intended to judge the values of hunters or animal rights folks, nor opine as to whether hunting should be legal. But there is no disputing that in some states, at certain times of the year, certain birds and mammals can be hunted legally. So how can it be that some of those very same states have now acted to prohibit the practice when accomplished remotely via the Internet?

Again, I’m not a hunter, but I would think that issues relating to safety, licensure, permits, fees, reporting, quotas, disposal, etc. could be addressed in a narrower fashion. Does Internet hunting somehow give the hunter more of an advantage/put the prey at more of a disadvantage, as compared to traditional hunting? Is Internet hunting somehow cruel in a way that traditional hunting is not? Or maybe this has nothing to do with the merits, and is instead a purely political development.

I would be interested in hearing your opinions on these issues.