North Carolina To Outlaw Fishing, Hunting Drones

Being a drone is not much fun these days, at least the non-military ones. After all, you are not only banned from flying over all national parks across the U.S., you are also not allowed by the FAA to perform deliveries. Might as well add another hammer blow to the lot this time around with word that the North Carolina State Assembly will soon take up the North Carolina House Bill 1099 that was passed unanimously on June 25th, where this bill will deal with drone restrictions when it comes to in-state use.

While some of the rules do address potential privacy issues which might arise whenever these flying devices actually feature cameras, the outcome would be more or less predictable, considering what has been turned into laws in several other states. However, the North Carolina bill does carry a handful of aspects that are more or less foreign to other states – that is, a prohibition when it comes to using drones for hunting and fishing.

Needless to say, it would be nuts to arm your drone with a gun, but for the bill to make it a “misdemeanor for any person to fish or hunt using an unmanned aircraft system” happens to cover a far broader ground, which might eventually be translation to banning tiny drones from determining where one would hunt or fish, which happens to be a marketing direction where several companies and individuals have already looked into. It remains to be seen whether this North Carolina bill prohibits folks from the use of drones to hunt or fish for recreation only, so only time will tell.

Edwin Kee
Categories: Robots
Tags: Drones