Point, click, shoot? Man envisions online hunting for live animals

The Seattle Times ^ | Thursday, November 25, 2004 | Ray Sasser

[Willie Green]

DALLAS -- Video hunting games have been around for years, but a San Antonio, Texas, man hopes to market a new Internet wrinkle using real bullets and live animals.

John Lockwood, who works as a body-shop estimator for a car dealership, got the idea for liveshot.com while watching a virtual hunting Web site in which Internet viewers "bagged" game with a camera.

He spent about $20,000 to build a motorized platform capable of aiming and firing a rifle via computer and started up his Web site, where an Internet marksman could plink targets with a .22 rifle.

Now Lockwood wants to expand the idea by setting up a hunting rifle connected to a video camera at waterholes or wildlife feeders at his small ranch near Rocksprings, Texas. A "hunter" in the comfort of his office or home could watch a computer screen until a target animal is spotted, then use the computer to line up the rifle and fire the shot.

[Willie Green]

IMHO, hunting by remote control should be banned as non-sporting.
And I don't give a hoot whether this is done on a private game reserve or not.
It's just plain sick and demented.

[digger48]

Someone been watching "The Jackal"?

So who's gonna field dress the carcass and tote it out? Or just leave it? I'm an ex-hunter who still loves wild game, just don't enjoy the killing, personally. Don't mind if others do, however, this is one of the dumbest F*#@ing ideas I've ever heard of.

[Shannon]

How skilled. (sarcasm off) What next, hunting via satellite? Then they could wipe out a whole herd all the while sitting back in their Lazy Boy chugging a beer.
Agreed; it is sick & demented. It's not hunting, it's gratuitous killing and should be outlawed.

[Mike1973]

This is a dumb idea, but the Media won't drop it. This story has been reported for the last 2-3 weeks.

[LauraleeBraswell]

The NRA needs to publicly come out against this

[Willie Green]

So who's gonna field dress the carcass and tote it out? Or just leave it?

A "ranch hand" takes care of that stuff.
After you "bagged your game", they'll skin/clean/butcher/taxidermy/mount your meat and/or trophy for ya and have it shipped to ya. No need to ever actually log-off the internet and venture into the great outdoors.

What a barfin' farce. This isn't "hunting". No way. It's a freaking video game with live slaughter.

[Servant of the 9]

this is not hunting, it is just a video game with animal blood.

So9

[Servant of the 9]

"So who's gonna field dress the carcass and tote it out? Or just leave it?"

A "ranch hand" takes care of that stuff.
After you "bagged your game", they'll skin/clean/butcher/taxidermy/mount your meat and/or trophy for ya and have it shipped to ya. No need to ever actually log-off the internet and venture into the great outdoors.

How much extra to shoot at the worthless scum retrieving the animals?

So9

[SampleMan]

You and I are having completely different reactions to this story.

My reaction was, "Gosh, I wonder if I could hunt terrorists? Say manning a .50 cal sniper rifle looking over some cold miserable pass in Afghanistan."

Frankly, I don't think much of the hunting by mouse concept either.

[JustAnotherOkie]

It truly is a terrible idea, but it can make money.

I understand a staff will handle the details. Maybe after you shoot the animial you can pick off the staff.

[Nathan Zachary]

I don't like the shooting animals part, because thats just not hunting. Isn't baiting wild game illegal as well?

But shooting terrorists by remote, now theres an idea.

[SampleMan]

Baiting is legal in some states. I've killed a lot of animals in my day and the idea of doing it by computer makes me quiz. However, I don't think it is a "sporting non sporting" issue for me. Most of the deer I killed as a kid weren't "sporting". They were on our farm, I knew where they were going to be given the conditions, and when I found them there I killed them. I ate venison most every day of my young life. It really just came down to harvesting, more than hunting. Killing wild animals never bothered me, but killing domestic animals did.

I guess it comes down to this for me. If hunting by computer, there is nothing but sport, and weak sport at that. Comparable to playing solitaire.

[Tealc]

What next, hunting via satellite?



:) Indeed. That is what real games are for.