Well, the votes are in, and trail cameras will be banned in the state of Arizona starting January 1, 2022.

The use of trail cameras to spot and locate wild game is a popular resource hunters use to harvest wild animals.

The Arizona Game and Fish Commission held a meeting and unanimously voted to ban the use of trail cameras “for the purpose of taking or aiding in the take of wildlife, or locating wildlife for the purpose of taking or aiding in the take of wildlife.”

AKA, the only reason hunters would use a trail camera.

This decision came after AZ Commissioners believe that trail cameras do not represent a fair chase for big game hunting and threaten public safety.

In October 2020, the governor’s office approved an emergency rule-making period on banning trail cameras based on the claim from AZGFD that they posed an immediate threat to public health and safety because of conflicts over camera placement, including disagreements on social media.

In 2018, the commission banned “live-action” cameras that included drones and cell cameras. This month’s vote added conventional trail cameras to that list.

But don’t think this decision happened without a lot of negative feedback from avid Arizonian hunters.

The initial topic about the ban was brought up in December and opened a public comment section that extended through January. Within this time period, they received thousands of emails, letters, and phone calls from those who opposed the ban. The second round of public comments received 1,845 comments, with 1,019 of those comments opposing the ban.

In a meeting held on June 11th, Larry Martinez, an attendee of the meeting, expressed that the state didn’t have any real data or science to back up the ruling. “Everything I’ve heard today is people’s emotions, no science,’ he said. “Either you like cameras, or you don’t like cameras.”

Arizona isn’t the only state that has banned or limited the use of trail cameras. Montana and Nevada are two states that have prohibited their use of cameras during the fall hunting season, and Utah is in the midst of considering a similar change to their rules of trail camera use.