Trending
LANCASTER -- A Pennsylvania man who uses drones to try to locate wounded deer shot by hunters so they can retrieve their carcasses has been convicted of violating state hunting laws.
Joshua Wingenroth, 35, of Downingtown, plans to appeal the verdicts handed down Thursday by Lancaster County District Judge Raymond Sheller. The case apparently marked the first time anyone has been cited and tried in Pennsylvania for using a drone to recover a dead game animal and it hinged on whether Wingenroth was involved in hunting as defined by state law.
"The Legislature needs to address this," Sheller said as he delivered his verdict. "Everyone is playing catchup to science."
Wingenroth, who openly advertised his business in area publications, was told by state game wardens last year that such an activity was illegal, authorities said. Wingeroth, though, told them his lawyer "has a different interpretation" of the law.
Wingenroth's attorney, Michael Siddons, said his client planned to appeal the verdict. Siddons argued at trial that the state laws concerning the use of devices while hunting are "archaic," saying they have been patched over time to cover new technologies but do not yet address the use of drones.
Siddons said if Wingenroth used the drone to locate an animal before shooting it that would have been illegal poaching, but Wingenroth instead believed there was a dead deer. He also only used a drone after hunting hours had ended and was never intending to hunt.