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| 11/5/2009 11:09:00 AM | Email this article • Print this article
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Courtesy OSP Fish & Wildlife
RoboElk poses before deployment as a realistic poacher decoy. |
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Don't shoot! RoboElk strikes back
By Kathleen Ellyn
Wallowa County Chieftain
The Oregon State Police Fish & Wildlife Division has a new "officer" assisting in sting operations. That officer's name is RoboElk.
RoboElk joins a number of robotic animals that assist fish & wildlife agents in catching illegal hunters in the act.
The elk is scheduled to be used in Wallowa County, where other robotic animals are deployed routinely.
The robotic game animals are placed in pastures and timber along roadways with backup from human officers stationed nearby. The human officers are then able to witness illegal activity while preserving the safety of passers-by, themselves and real elk, deer or other game animals.
Animal decoys have been part of the fight against poaching since 1991 when the Fish & Wildlife Enforcement Division established the program. Since 1995, Oregon law has made action toward an animal robocop under the control of law enforcement illegal - the same as illegal action against a live animal.
A person charged with a fish and wildlife violation involving a decoy can be charged with a Class A misdemeanor and earn one year in jail and a fine of $6,250, hunting license suspension of two years and restitution for damage to the decoy. Since they went to work, animal robo-cops have been proving their value.
During 2008, fish & wildlife conducted 225 operations statewide with nearly half during daylight hours. Troopers reported:
• 1,206 vehicles drove by and more than half observed the decoy
• 90 vehicles fired at the robcop
• 143 citations were issued
• Of the citations issued, 136 were for specific fish and wildlife violations including Taking Game Mammal in a Closed Season, Hunting Game Mammal with Aid of Artificial Light, No Big Game Tag, Aiding in a Wildlife Violation, and Felon in Possession of a Firearm (Class C Felony).
The Humane Society Wildlife Land Trust donated RoboElk to the division Oct. 14. It is the first Elk donated to the division and is scheduled to visit Wallowa County in the future.
The OSP Fish and Wildlife Division decoy inventory consists of deer, elk, antelope, bear, turkey and other wildlife species located statewide. The division reports that elk and deer are the most used decoys.
Custom Robotic Wildlife out of Mosinee, Wis. built the robotic elk decoy at a total cost of $4,000 including shipping and handling.
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