Pope and Young Club Statement on the Use of Cellular Trail Cameras
The Pope and Young Club have issued a statement clarifying the use of cellular trail cameras that send photos in real-time. Historically, the group has not viewed the use of trail cameras as a violation of the Pope & Young Rules of Fair Chase. While the use of a wireless trail camera is not automatically a violation of the Rules of Fair-Chase, using this technology to deliver real-time location data of the animal being hunted would be a violation of the Rules of Fair Chase #7.
Fair Chase rule #7 states it shall not include the taking of animals: “By the use of electronic devices for attracting, locating or pursuing game or guiding the hunter to such game, or by the use of a bow or arrow to which any electronic device is attached with the exception of lighted nocks and recording devices that cast no light towards the target and do not aid in rangefinding, sighting or shooting the bow.”
“After numerous phone calls and emails asking for clarification on the use of cellular trail cameras and other transmitting technology,” said Roy Grace, Records Chair for the Pope and Young Club. “The Pope and Young Records Committee, with assistance from the Boone and Crockett Records Committee, jointly created a policy that should provide hunters with a greater understanding of how this technology can be used in a manner that still provides Fair-Chase.”
The Pope and Young Club is a non-profit North American conservation and bowhunting organization dedicated to the promotion and protection of bowhunting by striving to increase awareness and appreciation of bowhunting foundations, principles, and values. The Pope and Young Club is focused on Fair Chase hunting ethics that support the ethical pursuit of free-ranging, wild game animals without unfair advantage while promoting the conservation of both habitat and wildlife. The Club also maintains the universally recognized repository of records and statistics on North American big game animals harvested with a bow and arrow.
Real-Time Response
The group clarifies that receiving a wirelessly transmitted image “which elicits an immediate (real-time) response, guiding the hunter to the animal would be considered a violation of the Rules of Fair-Chase.”
This would prohibit that animal from being eligible for entry into the Pope and Young Club’s Records Program. Fair-Chase is defined as the ethical, sportsmanlike, and lawful pursuit of free-ranging wild game animals that does not give the hunter an improper or unfair advantage over the animal.
In summary, if you use a game camera to receive a location and picture of an animal in real-time then you cannot enter the animal in the Pope and Young Club record book and it is considered an unethical kill. This is a controversial topic with several sides to the issue.
Jeremy Mallette is co-founder of International Sportsman. An avid hunter and outdoorsman, he has spent more than a decade in the outdoor industry, from hiking and camping to silencers and hunting. His father taught him to shoot at age six, and he received his first firearm at age eight — a 1942 Colt Commando .38 special revolver. He enjoys yearly trips to Kansas for pheasant hunting, spending time with his children at the deer lease, and collecting unique firearms.
Holsters
