- Utah wildlife officials propose electronic tagging for harvested animals, in addition to paper tags.
- E-tags would be included in the Utah Hunting and Fishing app.
- Public comments are open, with a decision expected at an Aug. 21 board meeting.
SALT LAKE CITY — Utah wildlife officials are seeking to implement electronic tagging for harvested animals for the first time this fall.
The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources is proposing a change in the state's rulebook requiring a paper tag that's physically attached to a harvested animal. This would open the door for e-tags that align with a new digital permit option, as the division seeks to consolidate its rules for harvested animal tagging.
"With more services transitioning to digital, we wanted to provide another option for hunters to make things more convenient during their hunting trip," said Lindy Varney, the division's licensing coordinator, in a statement Wednesday.
Hunters are currently required to physically place a tag onto the carcass of a harvested animal, which must be placed on the largest portion of the meat until the animal is entirely consumed.
People can still use physical tags if they want, which will detach from a permit. The tags include notches with months and dates that should be punched with the date that an animal was harvested. Tags won't need to be placed on the largest portion of the meat, under the proposed changes, but hunters aren't allowed to remove more than one notch on a tag indicating the date of their harvest.
As for the e-tagging system, hunters would need to download the Utah Hunting and Fishing app and then make sure their permit is added to it. The permit includes a section that allows a user to submit an e-tag that should be used once an animal is successfully harvested, Varney explained.
This will prompt a message telling the hunter to ensure they are next to the animal they have harvested and are ready to tag it. Users will be asked to enter their hunting location, submit four photos of their harvested animal and then a short harvest survey, which is required after a successful hunt or the end of the season.
An electronic code will be sent to the user after they've completed the survey. Users could keep this on their app, take a screenshot of it or write the code down if they want, but that code is still as important as a physical tag.
The new system, Varney said, just means hunters will need to have their phones with them while hunting. It doesn't matter if the person is hunting in an area without cellphone service.
"The beauty about this e-tag is if you're out in the field and don't have service, you can still submit an e-tag and it will save that data. Once you get into service, once you open the app back up, it will download all of your information into our database," she said in a video about the proposed new system.
Division officials say hunters won't be allowed to tag more than one carcass with the same electronic permit, which is already the case with physical tags. Hunters also wouldn't be allowed to pursue animals they don't have a permit for, which is also the case with physical tags.
The Utah Wildlife Board is expected to vote on whether to adopt the proposed changes during its Aug. 21 meeting at the Eccles Wildlife Education Center (1157 S. Waterfowl Way in Farmington). A public comment period on the proposed changes opened on Wednesday, and the topic will also be discussed during a series of regional advisory council meetings across the state between July 29 and Aug. 7 ahead of that decision.
Utah's buck deer archery season hunts begin on Aug. 16, but other major hunts aren't scheduled to start until after the change could be implemented.
