The small ranching hamlet of Deer Trail, Colorado is considering becoming the first US town to issue drone hunting licenses.
The ordinance, drafted by Deer Trail resident Phillip Steel, proposes a bounty of $100 to any licensed "shooter" who presents the "identifiable parts of an unmanned aerial vehicle whose markings and configuration are consistent with those used on any similar craft known to be owned or operated by the United States federal government."
"This is a very symbolic ordinance," Steel told local 7NEWS. "Basically, I do not believe in the idea of a surveillance society, and I believe we are heading that way."
Steel told Reuters that, though he had not seen any drones, "some local ranchers" outside the town limits had. Deer Trail, the site of the world's first rodeo, is situated approximately 55 miles east of Denver.
The ordinance further specifies that hunters can legally shoot down a drone flying under 1,000 feet with weapons limited to "any shotgun, 12 gauge or smaller, having a barrel length of 18 inches or greater."
Further, reports Reuters, Deer Trail will also be required to establish a drone "recognition program" for hunters to properly identify the targeted aircraft.
The Deer Trail board of trustees, a seven-member panel representing the town's roughly 600 residents, will vote on the ordinance on August 6. If passed, they will charge $25 for drone hunting licenses, valid for one year.
"We do not want drones in town," said Steel. "They fly in town, they get shot down."
Colorado's 7NEWS had this report on the ordinance:
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