Internet hunting
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Internet hunting was a moral panic in the 2000s that emerged in relation to the website Live-Shot.com, which allowed users to shoot animals using remotely-controlled firearms aimed via webcam. The panic resulted in legislation being passed across the United States despite Live-Shot.com being quickly closed down and no other operators entering the market.
Live-shot.com was launched in 2005 by Texas resident John Lockwood, who described it as a way to provide a hunting experience for disabled persons.[1] According to the Humane Society of the United States, the operation consisted of "a fenced pen stocked with animals [where Lockwood] set up a tripod with a camera and a firearm".[2]
Almost as soon as the operation was reported in the press, strong opposition to the concept developed among pro-gun and pro-hunting organizations, including the National Rifle Association of America and Safari Club International, as well as among animal rights and environmental groups, who argued that the majority of hunters did not consider the practice to be hunting, as it does not conform to the principles of a "fair chase".[1][3]
By August 2008, forty U.S. states had enacted laws or regulations to ban internet hunting.[4] These bans were supported by a Humane Society campaign. According to the Society, internet hunting is no longer being practiced.[3] Critics say internet hunting never existed as a viable industry, making much of the legislation curtailing it "a testament to public alarm over internet threats and the gilded life of legislation that nobody opposes".[5] A 2007 CBS News editorial claimed that "It turns out there weren't really Web "sites," ... More like one site, which was shut down almost soon as it opened."[6]
Advocates see the legislation as a proactive measure to prevent the practice being developed in states or other countries where it is not prohibited.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- 1 2 Kris Axtman (5 April 2005). "Hunting by remote control draws fire from all quarters". The Christian Science Monitor.
- ↑ Drew Sandholm (2 February 2008). "Internet Hunting: Click & Kill". KSFY Action News. Archived from the original on 15 November 2009. Retrieved 19 February 2009.
- 1 2 Humane Society Wildlife Abuse Campaign, Fact Sheet on Internet Hunting Archived 28 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ Humane Society, Map of Internet Hunting Bans Archived 24 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine (Aug. 2008)
- ↑ Zachary M. Seward (10 August 2007). "Internet Hunting Has Got to Stop -- If It Ever Starts". The Wall Street Journal.
- ↑ "Internet "Hunting" Mostly A Myth". CBS News. 10 August 2007. Retrieved 30 June 2026.
