Free Republic

Hunting live animals online will soon be illegal in Florida. On Wednesday, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is expected to approve a ban on the practice, making Florida the 35th state to prohibit "Internet hunting," Local 6 News partner Florida Today reported. The ban would take effect July 1. "I think, just overall, we felt it was wrong," said Henry Cabbage, a commission spokesman. The concept was pioneered three years ago by a Texas entrepreneur who set up an operation where would-be hunters could shoot Barbary sheep, wild boar and other animals at a game ranch using a...

Who says politicians can’t move swiftly and decisively to block an imminent threat to public decency? Consider the courageous work of most of our state legislatures and, potentially, the Congress of the United States, to put an end to the shameful scourge of internet hunting. Since 2005, 33 states have outlawed the cruel, unsportsmanlike practice, and when the governor signs an Illinois bill that’s already passed both houses that will make 34 states that have taken action to put an end to the slaughter. As the Humane Society of the United States declared in a mailing that went out in...

Louisiana has joined 21 other states in banning Internet hunting, the practice of using a mouse click to kill animals on a distant game farm. The cyber-shooting idea was the brainchild of Texan John Lockwood, who started the web site Live-Shot.com. The idea was this: Hunters sign up on the web site and pay some $1,500 or more. They schedule a session, then log on at their appointed time to watch a feeding station on the computer screen. The animal that was ordered—from wild hogs to antelope—is in the area, and when it approaches the food, the hunter moves on-screen...

NASHVILLE - An e-mail advisory to media Wednesday said that Sen. Doug Jackson, D-Dickson, would demonstrate "Internet hunting by shooting a goat today at 11:30" during the Senate Environment and Conservation Committee meeting. Jackson, D-Dickson, did no such thing, though he announced at the outset of his presentation, "We're going to go hunting." Instead, he used a laptop computer to go to a Web site - displayed on a screen in the committee room - where a person, for a fee paid by credit card, can take control of a specially rigged rifle sitting in a Texas field. If an...

Internet hunting idea has wildlife officials up in armsHOUSTON, Texas (Reuters) -- Hunters soon may be able to sit at their computers and blast away at animals on a Texas ranch via the Internet, a prospect that has state wildlife officials up in arms.The Web site already offers target practice with a .22 caliber rifle and could soon let hunters shoot at deer, antelope and wild pigs, site creator John Underwood said on Tuesday.Texas officials are not quite sure what to make of Underwood's Web site, but may tweak existing laws to make sure Internet hunting does not get out...