AUSTIN, Texas - (KRT) - Just days before a San Antonio company stages its second remote-control hunt over the Internet, lawmakers heard an earful from outraged Texans who want the Legislature to ban the practice.
Speaking before a legislative panel considering a prohibition on Internet hunting, animal rights activists and hunters alike called the concept cruel, odd and morally wrong.
"This is nothing more than some sort of a sophisticated video game that kills live animals," said Robert Trimble of the Texas Humane Legislation Network, an animal welfare group. "We don't consider this hunting in any fashion. We consider it a despicable practice."
Other groups supporting a ban include the Texas Wildlife Association, the Exotic Wildlife Association and the Humane Society of the United States.
State Rep. Todd Smith, R-Euless, has proposed the measure, House Bill 391, that would prohibit the practice of bagging game over the Internet. He said 14 states have either prohibited it already or are considering one.
"It's very much an Orwellian sort of concept," said Smith. "People are concerned about technology gone wild and its impact upon nature, and the balance of nature."
The proposed bans in Texas and around the nation are being sparked by a single San Antonio-based company called Live-Shot.com that allows anyone with a computer and a modem to target shoot and hunt, live, with real guns operated from a remote location.
Owner John Lockwood, who spoke against the proposed ban, has scheduled his second Internet hunt for this weekend. Dale Hagberg, paralyzed from the neck down and confined to his bed, will attempt to bag a black buck, an exotic species from India. He'll be in Ligonier, Ind., and the buck will be on a ranch in the Texas Hill Country.
Lockwood noted that Hagberg, 38, has already gotten a Texas hunting license. Hoping to allay safety concerns, Lockwood also stressed that he would be on site acting as a guide, able to intervene and stop the rifle from firing if need be.
"Why ban it for somebody who doesn't have the opportunity to be there," Lockwood said. "It's as close as you can get to a hunt on an exotic ranch without actually being there."
One hunting enthusiast rose to speak against the proposed ban. Engineer Allen Hansen of Leander said Internet hunting was not that different from some canned hunts on exotic game ranches, and he told lawmakers a ban could be used as a "stepping stone" for more restrictions.
But there were no apparent takers - Democrat or Republican - on the House Committee on Culture, Recreation and Tourism. Smith said it's the kind of issue that unites both hunters and animal rights groups.
"And there aren't many of those," he said.
Lockwood himself acknowledged that he's fighting an uphill battle: "It looks like a done deal," he said.
The bill was left pending in committee Tuesday but is expected to be voted out and sent to the floor within days.
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© 2005, Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
Visit the Star-Telegram on the World Wide Web at http://www.star-telegram.com.
Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.
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