Michigan passed a Hunter Harassment Act in the 1990s and updated it several years ago to prevent hunters from being harassed by the use of drones. Now legislation has been introduced at the behest of the hunting interests to create a 9th category of activity which would be illegal under the law. HB 4340 would make it a crime to “to photograph, videotape, audiotape, or otherwise record an individual who is lawfully taking an animal or fish with the intent to harass that individual.” At a hearing last month, several proponents of the bill testified that the prohibition was necessary because a Wisconsin group was filming hunters there, and a national animal advocacy organization would surely be planning to use recordings of hunters in Michigan. Although some spoke of hunter harassment incidents in Michigan, there was no direct testimony of a witness being harassed by an individual recording him hunting or fishing.
The House Natural Resources will take up the bill again today, and it likely will pass.
AFA’s board of directors voted to oppose the bill and submitted testimony. Our three reasons are:
- It’s unnecessary. One of the existing 8 actions is a catch-all, prohibiting an individual from engaging “in any other act or behavior for the purpose of violating this section.”[i] There is no need to add a 9th category.
- There are serious First Amendment issues, as the law regulates the content of speech. In fact, there’s a pending case in Wisconsin, challenging a similar prohibition against recording hunting activities on free speech grounds.
- This bill could have unintended consequences. The Michigan DNR encourages citizen reporting of poaching and other illegal hunting activity. It recently instituted a program, which it has been publicizing, allowing observers to text reports of poaching. This use of technology invites the use of recording such as photographs and videos to accompany the text. If this bill becomes law, people may think twice about reporting suspected poaching or other illegal behavior and subjecting themselves to prosecution.
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[i] MCL 324.40112 (2)(h)
Our letter can be downloaded here.