Cyber Hunting
12/17/2008The Internet now provides everyone with so many different opportunities that a few years ago, were only possible for a select group of individuals. With the advent of the Internet, a person living in the remotest of areas can purchase items previously unavailable, such as Prada bags, or make reservations at their favorite restaurant without picking up the phone. Almost anything you can dream of is possible with the Internet and remote technology, and a ban on any specific Internet activity in the United States does not necessarily stop it from occurring and being offered overseas. There are even websites that stream live broadcasts of anything from puppies to penguins to Hobart, Tasmania. It was only time until the opportunity to interact with living creatures within the webcam's view became a virtual reality.
Within the past three years or so, hunting via an Internet connection, known as cyber hunting, has cropped up under the heading of some of the less-favorable activities the Internet allows us to do, and it is illegal in most states.
It began as a website run from a Texas ranch. Live-shot.com allowed people with hunting licenses to hunt real live animals from their computers using a gun that was hooked up to a computer system. A guide would be there at the ranch to load the .22 caliber rifle and monitor each animal's demise. While this site created a few moments of joy (and the electrifying feeling people report after a kill) for some, including a quadriplegic man mentioned in a November 29, 2005 article from the Columbia News Service, many groups - most notably the National Rifle Association (NRA), Safari Club, and the Humane Society - created a backlash of protest.
The Humane Society opposes Internet hunting for obvious reasons, but it is not immediately clear why the NRA is against the activity. Guns are involved, as long as the practice is not injuring people, why not? The NRA's criticism of the practice is based on the idea that hunting is more than simply shooting an animal, but also the process of preparing for the hunt and getting out into the field just like our ancestors have for thousands of years (but with more updated weapons).
Internet hunting is now prohibited in most states, and after its ban in Texas, live-shot.com was promptly changed to live-paintball.com, a site that incites you to " Get ready to blast away at [its] LIVE Human Targets trying to avoid the wrath of 200mph paintballs!" With this site, instead of shooting bullets at game, the objective is to shoot paintballs at different strangers, depending on the scenario (several options include Shoot Your Boss, or scantily-clad male or female models). Anyone in the world can participate, but I wonder who would opt to have the job title of "Target".
