SAVE THOSE TRACKING COLLARS – As I’ve been hunting this year, I feel like I’ve seen many more animals with collars. It’s actually kind of cool to see an animal with a collar. You know that the animal is being tracked and studied. And you know that the wildlife department has a vested interest in that specific animal or herd. Many hunters wonder though, can I shoot an animal with a collar on?
Radio Tracking Collars
Radio tracking collars are used for many reasons. One of the main reasons that the wildlife department utilizes collars is to track herd migrations. It allows the department to know where animals are going during specific times of the year. It ensures they are improving habitats where it will be most effective for the animal they are tracking. Hunters will see collars on a wide variety of animals. Including bears, deer, elk, mountain lions, and much more.
The technology of these collars continue to improve each year. Similar to the phone in your pocket, the collars receive updated technology and software that improves distances, pin-point tracking, and more. As the technology increases, so does the cost of the collars.
Shooting Animals with Collars
It is completely legal to harvest an animal that has a collar on it. It may be distracting, but there is no laws that prohibit the harvesting of an animal with a collar. So long as it is taken legally with the right permit and during the correct season.
The question then arises, what do you do with the collar after shooting an animal? In a recent news release by the Arizona Fish and Game, they ask that hunters return the collar. Collars can be easily removed by loosening two nuts on the strap and taking the collar off of the animal. Once removed, the hunter can drop the collar off at your local division office.
