By Jay Sowers

The Selma Times-Journal

Despite any issues he and his fellow hunters take with new hunting regulations in Alabama, Tim Wood, general manager at the Central Alabama Farmers Co-Op in Selma, said Wednesday that he can certainly see the value in the new legislation.

The new hunting regulations include a policy that stipulates all hunters must register their harvest — deer or turkey — within 24 hours of the kill.

Wood, himself an avid turkey hunter, said this legislation is vital for the state to understand what game is being killed, where it is being killed and other vital information that can be used to control and maintain the wildlife populations across the state.

“You can’t manage what you have unless you know what you have, and the state really has no idea what it has,” Wood said.

Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources commissioner Gunter Guy said the new registration program — called “Game Check” — will help to answer many questions the ADCNR has about animal populations in Alabama.

“Truthfully we don’t know how many deer are killed or harvested in Dallas County or any other county in the state,” Guy said during a meeting in Selma in early August which game hunters the opportunity to ask questions about the new legislation. “We don’t know how many turkeys are killed or harvested in Dallas or any other county in the state. We don’t know. We also don’t know how many deer are in Dallas County or any other county.”

Wood said that while it is might be seen as an inconvenience for hunters this year, in time any inconvenience will be outweighed by the benefits of the legislation.

“I think this change will be good,” Wood said.

“It’s a manageable change, it’s not the end of the world,” Wood said.

After harvesting a deer or turkey, hunters have three ways to register the kill: over the phone by calling (800) 888-7690, online at www.outdooralabama.com/gamecheck, or on their smartphone through the Outdoor Alabama app – which can be downloaded at outdooralabama.com/oaapp.com.