Robodeer stops poachers in their tracks

If you're planning on doing any illegal deer hunting on public land in Northwest Indiana, be warned: robodeer is out there waiting. The robotic buck, now being used by conservation officials in the region, has a swiveling head and is typically positioned at the side of a road, while officials wait nearby with a remote. When a hunter takes a shot at the bot, the official steps in and arrests him for poaching. Which leads to an inevitable question that is sure to make it all the way to the Supreme Court: what crime are you guilty of when you shoot a robot animal?

[Thanks, William]

[Revrant @ Feb 1st 2006 6:24PM]

I salute the people brave enough to stroll out of the bushes and arrest a poacher carrying an armed, high powered weapon, not saying I'll donate for the funerals, just a salute.

[itanshi @ Feb 1st 2006 6:27PM]

haha, that's my backyard! i'll let ya know if i see it ^^

[Timothy @ Feb 1st 2006 6:33PM]

They're guilty of the same crime people that buy drugs from officers are, whether the drugs are real or not. Or the same crime that pedophiles are guilty of when they talk to a "13 year old" that is actually a 35 year old cop.

[Vikram Dhar @ Feb 1st 2006 6:39PM]

Why dont they just setup a natural conserver for poachers with robo-deer's in it... and save everyone a whole lotta trouble.
And then we could have pepperoni, chicken, sausage etc. flavours of robo-deer, ready to eat after a defrost on an open fire.
well.. maybe not.

[Timerider @ Feb 1st 2006 6:42PM]

I heard they're using a couple of those here (Wisconsin).

[Kyle @ Feb 1st 2006 6:44PM]

Entrapment?

[allan @ Feb 1st 2006 6:46PM]

what crime are you guilty of when you shoot a robot animal?

um vandalism of city proporty maybe?

[Duke Puppy @ Feb 1st 2006 6:52PM]

I like deer, but I have now also hit two deer with cars. Both of them were totalled (deer too). They are stupid and have no natural predator to thin them out. Kind of like people I guess, so now if we hire those people to arrest the poachers we have a win-win situation!

[The.Deer.Hunter @ Feb 1st 2006 6:55PM]

This thing has been used for YEARS here in Arkansas. And to answer your questions about what they are doing wrong: If they fire from a roadway--that is illegal no matter what they are shooting at, if they are poaching (or hunting at night) that too is illegal even if you don't kill any live animals. Think of it like # 3 said, if I shoot at your house and miss, does that mean I didn't commit any crimes?

[Foof @ Feb 1st 2006 6:58PM]

"what crime are you guilty of when you shoot a robot animal?"

Wouldn't that be conversion?

Or maybe more relevantly, probably an inchoate offense.

[Robin McClellan @ Feb 1st 2006 6:59PM]

They've been using these in northern New York (state, not city, they use other robotic decoys there) for years. Funny thing about them is they're amazingly effective--they've actually nailed the same people TWICE with them. Reminds me of the Steve Martin skit with the frozen steel bar that said, "Chocolate Bar" on it and he kept getting his tongue stuck on it.

[Pauley Chronopolos @ Feb 1st 2006 7:08PM]

Thats awesome! We need video of these events!

[lakiolen @ Feb 1st 2006 7:10PM]

The intent to poach perhaps?

#5: I don't think the dear is telling the hunters to shoot it, unless of course it has a big "Shoot Me" sign around its neck. But then i guess that would defeat some of the realism.

[Lorne @ Feb 1st 2006 7:13PM]

Welcome to the poaching party, peeps. They've been using these things in Canada since the '90s and they have caught many a poacher.

I'm not up on all the legalities involved, but a good many poachers have been convicted (and I'm not aware of any brave natural resource officers being shot).

[David Oh @ Feb 1st 2006 7:22PM]

There is a legal term that escapes me.... something to do with intent. Which means if you were a drug dealer and you thought you were selling LSD or Ecstasy but they turned out to be sugar pills or some such you'd still be arrested.

[r2 @ Feb 1st 2006 7:59PM]

Crime? There's no crime here. Instead, I salute the freedom fighters who take the first shot at toppling out robotic overlords.

[creamed cow @ Feb 1st 2006 8:34PM]

I'd like my robotic buck with some fava beans and a nice chianti. *slurp*slurp*

[x23 @ Feb 1st 2006 9:06PM]

"8. I like deer, but I have now also hit two deer with cars. Both of them were totalled (deer too). They are stupid and have no natural predator to thin them out."

same deal. i don't hate deer. i just want them all dead. or smarted up 10-fold. this robot SHOULD be made to actively search and destroy all deer near a road.

poachers are probably more humane (and get more use out of the deer) than say... the guy that caved ones head in with a sledgehammer after i hit it with my van... breaking all it's legs and ripping it's lower jaw off. that's just a guess though.

[Daryl @ Feb 1st 2006 9:08PM]

How to cover all bases and not get arrested..

just scream, DAMN ROBOTIC DEAR!! DAM YOU. YOU KILLED MY MOTHER!!!!!

They might think your a moron but you saved your self jail time.

[ed @ Feb 1st 2006 9:11PM]

We've had these in Texas for years now. Nothing new here.

[Faizan @ Feb 1st 2006 9:11PM]

I think I've seen this on TV once. The cops hid behind a nearby tree.

[Bard @ Feb 1st 2006 9:13PM]

#6...in regards to your comment...

It is NOT entrapment. The robot is just sitting there doing the things that anamatronic decoys do. Nothing provoked you into pulling out that 30.06 and blasting it without a permit from a road.

Now, if it had freakn' lasers on it's head, then I'd see grounds for mutual combat (as outlined in the Arizona State Legal Code), if there were legitimate fear for your life or the lives of your immediate family. (yes, girlfriends and buddies are screwed in that case)

[Da King @ Feb 1st 2006 9:19PM]

what about those animal conservationists that take care of deer?

They should put voice things in the deer and scare the poachers by talking and stuff.

now that would be funny
----

[Hoss @ Feb 1st 2006 9:19PM]

They use these in Alabama all the time. In my hunting shop this guy used to brag about shooting from the road to game wardens, but since they had no hard evidence, they couldn't catch him. He finally got caught shooting from his truck, and they took his gun, truck, and money (over $1000). Needless to say he didn't brag about that shot!

[Grant @ Feb 1st 2006 9:36PM]

Or a deer that when it heard a rustling in the bushes stood up on two feet and did a tap dance, lol. Come on and hear, come on and hear, Bambi's ragtime band.

[jygsaw @ Feb 1st 2006 9:47PM]

I, for one, welcome an illegal robot deer hunt.

[Rob Speed @ Feb 1st 2006 10:11PM]

Worst tasting venison I've ever had.

[Znarfaggle @ Feb 1st 2006 10:27PM]

haha, #17, Xzar.
but yeah, you can get busted for criminal intent, ie trying to commit a crime. your just a bigger loser cos you can't even break the damn law and you still get screwed over. i wouldn't mind having one of these for target practise...

[Matt E. @ Feb 1st 2006 11:07PM]

What would really be cool is if the robodeer, upon being fired at, morphed into 6'2", red-eyed glowing terminator, complete with a plasma rifle in the 40 watt range.

That would rock! Video of the hunter's/poacher's faces would be priceless!

[creamed cow @ Feb 2nd 2006 2:04AM]

Uncle Jimbo: MY GOD, IT'S COMING RIGHT AFTER US!! *BANG*

[Jo pettitt @ Feb 2nd 2006 4:12AM]

I believe it is illegal to shoot from your car and some time ago when this robodeer was being tested that was the reason it was introduced.

[Ratface @ Feb 2nd 2006 5:48AM]

Amazing how many people here can't spell deer!

I would imagine that shooting a "dear" will get you more than a fine!

[lessherger @ Feb 2nd 2006 5:57AM]

Deer are not dumb animals. They do have many natural preditors, coyotes and wolves being two. We have encrached so far into their habitat that they end up crossing busy roadways to get to more food. The best defense to not hitting a deer is to hang up your cell phone and watch the road.

Most rifles used for hunting deer hold only one round of ammunition, so after that shot is taken it's pretty safe for the offical to jump out and arrest the shooter. It's not like hunters go out and hunt with an AK47! (Though I've known a few who do.)

[JavaDog @ Feb 2nd 2006 6:50AM]

I think it would be great, if you knew where the 'robo-deer' was that day, to pull up and run up to the deer and act like the Grizzly Man.

"Ohhhh, your a pretty deer! Yes you are! Such a pretty deer! I'm gonna pet you!"

Maybe start throwing deer food at it...

[EssP @ Feb 2nd 2006 7:51AM]

I had a friend years ago who was driving down the road (southern Va) and he saw a deer in a field, so he pulled over. He got out of the truck got his shot gun and walked around the field doing everything by the book. He even had permission to hunt on the land. He came up around to the deer and unloaded his gun on it. It was a robot. After he shot, a bunch of game wardens and such came out of nowhere. They couldn't do a thing to him though.

[Captain Skull @ Feb 2nd 2006 8:11AM]

Robocide?

[Jon Acheson @ Feb 2nd 2006 10:08AM]

#34: Actually, most deer rifles hold at least 4 rounds, plus one in the chamber.

And the AK47 would be a perfectly acceptable deer rifle, if semiautos are allowed in your area. Its ammo is comparable to the 30-30 round people have been using on deer for generations. You could probably find something that weighed less and had more range for a little more money, though.

And as far as encroaching into habitats goes, in my area it's the deer who have been encroaching into residential areas because their numbers are way too high.

[super-structure @ Feb 2nd 2006 11:54AM]

I know the Nat'l Park Service has used alarmed decoys for quite some time, but not robotic ones. They are very effective tools in catching poachers.

For anyone who thinks that is is entrapment, IANAL but you obviously aren't one, either. You really need to go look up the definition of that word. Intent to commit a crime is still a punishable offense in most cases.

Duke Puppy: Of course hunting should be used to keep deer populations in check. However, that is why there are permits and seasons. Poachers are people who break those laws and deserve to be punished for doing so. I'm not sure what kind of odd form of evolution you're hoping for, but allowing poachers to shoot everything the can spot with a high-power light on a 4x4 isn't really going to make smarter deer.

[Cheese Head @ Feb 2nd 2006 1:43PM]

These have been used in Wisconsin for quite some time now.

[a real live lawyer from Indiana @ Feb 3rd 2006 4:23PM]

Shooting at a law enforcement decoy is a crime in Indiana, if the shooter is violating another hunting law. Indiana Code 14-22-40-6. Shooting at a deer standing on a highway is illegal too, under Ind. Code 14-22-6-9. You can look it up.

http://www.in.gov/legislative/ic/code/title14/ar22/ch40.html

http://www.in.gov/legislative/ic/code/title14/ar22/ch6.html