Michigan State conservation officials will no doubt ruffle a few "feathers" when they put their latest enforcement tool to use. Some northern Michigan counties are now using a high tech lifelike robotic turkey that rotates its body and fans its tail to catch poachers in action.
The Department of Natural Resources officials have nicknamed the new bird "Robo Turkey". The robotic bird decoys are being planted during turkey hunting season to snare poachers as they attempt to shoot them.
The robotic turkey decoys were put into service in response to property owners complaining about roadside hunters according to Sgt. Greg Drogowski, of the DNR's law enforcement division located in Gaylord.
After the first weekend of use, Robo Turkey wasn't shot at according to Sgt. Drogowski, but it did indeed attract more than one curious onlooker. Some hunters actually stopped and started using turkey calls to try to lure the "birds" closer.
On one occaision, a curious driver stopped for a moment and glanced at the gobbler, quickly took off and came back with a friend. Sgt. Drogowski was expecting to see a gun barrel poke out of the window, but instead, the driver and his friend began shooting photos of the bird.
"Robo Turkey" is not an inexpensive decoy, costing around $1,000 each. The mechanical birds were donated to the state by the National Wild Turkey Federation (NWTF). Also, the fake turkeys are not bulletproof, although they come with replacement heads.
At that price, I'm not sure that many of us turkey hunters would be willing to add a Robo Turkey to our hunting equipment, but we can dream can't we? |
