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HONOLULU (AP) - Hawaii officials said Wednesday they are investigating whether any state regulations were broken during the filming of the History channel's television show "American Jungle."
The state Department of Land and Natural Resources said in a statement that an episode that aired Nov. 17 showed hunters at night, but hunting at night is illegal on both public and private land.
Maps used on the show also demark areas under the department's jurisdiction, even though the state denied a request by the production crew for a permit to film on state forest lands, the department said.
A spokeswoman for History owner A&E Television Networks LLC said the company would have no comment.
The History channel website says "American Jungle" depicts rival clans using knives and spears to hunt feral bulls, wild boars, goats and rams in "the island paradise of Hawaii." The clans are battling for hunting trails "fought over for generations," it says.
The first episode, broadcast Nov. 10, shows hunters using spears and dogs to hunt a cow, the department said, even though it's illegal to hunt cattle without a special feral cattle control permit.
The show is also culturally insensitive, the department said. There's no evidence that native Hawaiians ever used spears to hunt cattle or pigs in the forest. Early Hawaiians brought pigs with them to the islands on canoes.
"This appears to be a fictional `reality' production with no connection to actual hunters in Hawaii," Gov. Neil Abercrombie said in a statement. "If we discover any laws or regulations have been broken we will vigorously pursue legal and/or criminal charges."
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