Florida’s white-tailed deer have been here far longer than humans, millions of years.
Their instincts, senses, and behaviors have evolved over vast stretches of time to evade predators like wolves, panthers, and humans armed with simple, primitive tools. But over the last few decades, the balance has tipped dramatically.

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While the deer’s survival strategies haven’t changed in millions of years, hunters have adopted a rapidly evolving array of technologies that make the hunt easier, faster, and far less fair. This is not “traditional hunting”, this is technological warfare.

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Ancient Instincts vs. Modern Weapons

The white-tailed deer’s defenses, acute hearing, sharp sense of smell, keen eyesight attuned to movement were once enough to give them a fair chance against human predators. But modern hunters now have tools that overwhelm those defenses.

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Here’s what today’s deer face in Florida and bears to soon follow:

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1. GPS Tracking Systems

• Handheld and smartphone-based GPS units to navigate deep forests and swamps.

• GPS collars and tracking devices on hunting dogs to locate them. 

• Waypoint marking to pinpoint exact bedding and feeding locations.

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2. Packs of Hunting Dogs

• Large groups of deer-tracking hounds released in waves to exhaust and drive deer toward waiting shooters.

• GPS collars, radio telemetry, and real-time mapping to coordinate the chase.

• Dogs trained over years to relentlessly pursue.

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3. Motorized Vehicles

• Convoys of trucks used to leapfrog ahead of fleeing deer.

• Hunters position themselves along escape routes often before the deer even arrive.

• Vehicles used to transport packs of dogs rapidly from one area to another.

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4. Baiting​

• Bait sites monitored by cameras tracking deer in the area.

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5. Shining (Spotlighting)

• Powerful spotlights or high-lumen headlamps used to freeze deer at night.

• Deer’s natural “freeze” response is exploited, making them easy targets. (Shining is illegal for deer hunting in Florida but still documented in poaching cases.)

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6. High-Tech Optics

• Rangefinders for exact distance measurement.

• Thermal imaging and night vision scopes to detect deer in darkness.

• Magnified optics that allow long-range shots far beyond a deer’s natural detection zone.

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7. Trail Cameras

• Motion-activated, often with cellular connections to send instant images to a hunter’s phone.

• Allows round-the-clock monitoring of deer movements without stepping a foot in the woods.

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​This is modern day deer dog hunting and bears are about to face this same fate! Sign and share our petition protecting black bears.