The Hindu : International : Shoot and kill, all online

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Mar 06, 2005

International

International

Shoot and kill, all online

BOERNE, MARCH 5. Howard Giles was beginning to think he would never get a decent shot at the wild hog. But about an hour into the hunt, the beast finally moved into the rifle's sights and he fired. With the click of a mouse.

Mr. Giles was in his home, aiming at the animal from a program on his computer. The hog was eating soured corn some 70 km away, oblivious to the remote-controlled 30.06 rifle pointing at its neck. ``There was a lot of anticipation. My heart was pumping,'' Mr. Giles recalled. ``I felt like I was there.''

Welcome to the controversial union of modern technology and game hunting. It is called Live-Shot.com, and it is operated by John Lockwood. The website allows anyone with Internet access and a mouse to hunt and target-shoot by remote control, all in real time.

Criticism

For Mr. Lockwood, it is a way to open up hunting to people who cannot or will not walk into the woods with a shotgun or rifle. But for critics, including a legislator, Todd Smith, it is unnatural, unfair and immoral. ``I don't believe we should be able to kill God's creatures with the click of a mouse,'' said Mr. Smith, who has introduced legislation to ban remote-controlled hunting. ``The creatures of this earth have a hard enough time sustaining themselves while we're after them when we're physically present. They don't need this.''

Legislators in other U.S. States are also introducing legislation to stop the practice before it takes off, according to published reports.

Mr. Lockwood is the first to admit that Internet hunting is not for everybody. In fact, he said he is not interested in it himself because he prefers the outdoor experience and thrill that only in-person hunting or target shooting can produce. Yet, there are some people who cannot or will not brave the elements but who still crave a hunting experience, he said. And whether they are handicapped, stuck in a hunt-free foreign country or just curious beginners, he thinks they should be able to use his site. And he cannot understand why so many people are so viscerally opposed to what he is offering.

He frequently gets profanity-laced e-mail. People tell him he is sick or ``off his rocker,'' or that he is violating the laws of nature. One recent e-mail said he is a ``disgrace to the hunting and animals industry.'' Mr. Lockwood notes there is always a person in the blind to ensure safety. A Texas hunting licence, that can be obtained over the Internet, is required. And Mr. Lockwood is standing by with his own rifle in case the one controlled by remote does not do the job. ``We're just having the animals come to us instead of going out and tracking them,'' he said.

Simple system

The system is deceptively simple, all of it contained in an 2.4 metre-by-3.7 m wooden trailer on an 88-hectare ranch. Sitting on a folding banquet table inside is an assortment of computer equipment.

Wires from the computer snake over to a pan-tilt motor, a wide-angle camera and, atop metal brackets, a Ruger .22 rifle fitted with a scope and a 10-round clip. The smaller caliber rifle is used for target shooting.

On a recent Saturday, the Ruger was pointing toward a target gallery — balloons, tiny metal sheep and the like — about 30 metres away. Suddenly, the motor whirred into action, lifting the rifle slightly upward and to the left. On the adjacent computer screen, the camera brought a bright yellow balloon into the scope's crosshairs.

A loud whack erupted from the gun barrel, and a balloon pop could be heard in the distance. The gun moved again to the right, fixed on another target and fired again. Another hit.

More than 350 people — from places as far flung as Hong Kong, France and Peru — have signed up as members of Live-Shot.com. They pay $14.95 (about Rs. 665) a month and $5.95 (about Rs. 265) each time they fire off 10 rounds of ammunition at inanimate targets. The hunting is extra: it costs $300 for two hours and $75 for an additional hour.

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