Senate committee approves bill allowing drones to locate wounded wildlife, sets licensing and publication requirements

The Senate Natural Resources Committee approved a committee substitute for Senate Bill 721 to authorize the use of unmanned aerial vehicles to track or locate mortally wounded wild animals and to set related licensing and publication requirements.

The committee vote followed a presentation from committee counsel explaining that the bill amends a provision in the wildlife resources article to allow UAVs to be used to locate mortally wounded wild animals where current law limits tracking to a dog used by the hunter or a dog handler. The substitute also would require UAV operators to possess a valid hunting license when operating tracking services on property not owned or leased by the operator, clarify that only one dog may be used by a handler or hunter to track an animal, and require the Division of Natural Resources to publish a list of outfitters and guides who provide dog or UAV tracking services.

Wendy Green, deputy director for the Division of Natural Resources, testified she had reviewed the committee substitute and said the agency had no enforcement concerns. "We had the opportunity to look at the comm sub and we have no concerns with it, in application or how it ties into the rest of our enforcement of chapter 20," Green said. She added that tracking with UAVs appears to be a growing business and that the bill addresses a gap in current code that limits tracking to dogs.

Senators asked questions about the scope and limits of the proposal. Senator Greenbrier asked whether operators must have property-owner permission before flying over private land; counsel and other speakers pointed to an existing provision in chapter 20 that requires permission from the property owner in such cases. Committee members also confirmed that the code continues to prohibit using UAVs to hunt or to carry weapons, and that only one dog per hunter is permitted for tracking. Members clarified that a commercial tracker operating off another person's property would need a license, while a hunter tracking on his or her own property would not be engaging in commercial activity under the bill's description.

Committee counsel said the introduced version of the bill initially contained a criminal provision that would have required a second reference to the judiciary committee, but that change in the committee substitute removed the criminal language. Despite that, the committee voted to report the committee substitute to the full Senate with a recommendation that it pass, and under the bill's original double-committee reference it will be referred to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary first.

The committee adopted the committee substitute and approved reporting the bill to the full Senate by voice votes. The panel also approved routine business items, including approval of minutes from its previous meeting.