This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2008, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Posted: 11:55 AM- Hunters should use bullets, not bytes, if they're going to bag game, says Sen. Mike Waddoups, who is sponsoring legislation to ban online hunting.
"If you're a sportsman, go out and be a sportsman. Don't set up a game preserve or ranch and pen in a bunch of deer or elk ... then set it up with a joystick or something," said Waddoups, R-Taylorsville. "It just doesn't seem very sporting to me."
Waddoups is known as the "father" of most Utah gun laws, particularly those dealing with concealed weapons.
There are no Internet hunting outfits in Utah. One was opened in Texas, Liveshot.com, but was immediately banned by Texas legislators and bodies in 33 others states have followed suit, according to Gene Baierschmidt, director of the Utah Humane Society.
The site would let hunters from around the world aim a gun from their home computer while penned-in animals wander by, then fire a shot with a click of a button.
Robin Thomas of the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources said the division doesn't allow online hunts now, but it supports the bill - http://www.le.state.ut.us/search.jsp?Sess=2008GS&String=SB164&Submit=Find" Target="_BLANK">SB164 - to further reinforce the prohibition, because "nothing's ironclad."
The committee approved the bill, moving it to the full Senate.