Drones are not just toys anymore. A growing number of industries rely on drones for everything from photographing real estate to collecting content for videos. Some biologists even use drones to map and study wildlife.

One Pennsylvania drone operator even offered his services to hunters looking to recover wounded deer. That is until the PA Game Commission charged him. But a state legislator wants to change Title 34, The Wildlife Code, to allow the use of drones in limited circumstances.

In 2023, a drone operator from southeast Pennsylvania was fined and later found guilty after using his drone to help track a lost deer. Although the individual was later found not guilty on appeal, the verdict was due to a legal technicality and not the misapplication of current laws that prohibit the use of unauthorized electronic devices to aid hunters.

State senator Jarrett Coleman introduced Senate Bill 1312 to allow the use of drones during the recovery of wounded animals, similar to the 2018 change that enables the use of dogs for the same purpose. Although the bill was introduced earlier this year, and is currently stalled in the Senate Game and Fisheries Committee, many hunters are just now learning about its existence – probably because they are only now worried about finding a lost animal.

The Game Commission is very clear on its position regarding the use of drones during any phase of the hunting process, including tracking wounded game. According to the Game Commission, drones are unauthorized electronic devices. They therefore cannot be used by either the hunter or someone assisting the hunter, whether to locate game or track wounded game after the fact.

Hunters are split on the idea.

Many agree that using a drone would aid in the recovery of wounded game, thus preventing it from going to waste. Others feel that using a drone detracts from the overall hunting experience and could easily be abused by those seeking to scout for potential targets during the season. Which stance is stronger is impossible to gauge, as there have been no official polls on the topic.

What do you think?

Should PA allow the use of drones, like they do with dogs, for example, in the recovery of wounded game? If so, what restrictions should be put in place to prevent abuse? Should Pennsylvania follow Virginia’s example and prohibit the hunter from hunting the surveyed area for 24 hours after the use of a drone?

Should, as the bill proposes, hunters or professional drone operators be able to conduct the surveillance, or should it be limited to licensed operators? What else could be done to allow the use of drones without interfering with other hunters or giving drone users an unfair advantage?

Or should the state stand its ground and prohibit the use of drones during any phase of the hunt? Does the ability to find a wounded animal outweigh the need for hunters to make ethical decisions when it comes to shot placement if they know they can send a drone to see the injured deer?

What other concerns are there?

I don’t know where I stand on the use of drones, or even dogs for that matter, when it comes to locating wounded or dead game. On one hand, I hate to see a wounded animal suffer if it will not survive, and hate it even more if the animal then goes to waste because it cannot be found. However, I also see the very real possibility of abuse. My biggest concern has nothing to do with drones but with the legislator once again trying to regulate hunting or fishing.

That is the job of the commissions, not elected officials, but that is a topic for another day.