Alabama Conservation Commissioner N Gunter Guy, Jr. on Friday announced he was withdrawing the mandatory Game Check regulation and implement voluntary compliance.

The Game Check system will still be effective Oct. 15, 2013, for the first day of archery season. CAB Chairman Dan Moultrie said, “We are confident that the hunters in Alabama will comply with the Game Check reporting system on a voluntary basis this first year because they know the importance of the information gained through this process.”

The biological data gained through harvest reporting will provide the Conservation Department with invaluable information on a county-by-county basis.

“As a biologist, I know we must have harvest data in order to make accurate season and bag limit recommendations,” said Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Director Chuck Sykes. “After traveling the state for the past nine months and talking to hunters at town hall style meetings, I am confident that the hunters of the state understand that the motives of Game Check are pure. Once hunters understand that the data gained through Game Check will be available in almost real time to them as well as the Department, they get excited about the possibilities.”

All the organizations that supported the Department and the Game Check program are anxiously awaiting the data generated during the first year of Game Check, he said.