8/8/2007

AGFC withdraws proposal to prohibit all electronic decoys

Spinning wing duck decoy ban remains in place

LITTLE ROCK – The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission’s proposal to prohibit all electronic decoys for waterfowl hunting in the state has been withdrawn, said AGFC wildlife management division chief Doyle Shook.

AGFC commissioners will vote on a waterfowl hunting regulations package for the 2007-2008 season at their monthly meeting on Aug. 16. The proposed ban on electronic decoys was originally part of that regulations package, but it will not be considered following the wildlife management division’s decision to withdraw the proposal. The ban on spinning wing decoys will stay in place.

“It was an issue that needed to be discussed publicly,” Shook said, “and I think it made people think about what hunting is about.”

AGFC announced the plan in June at a series of public meetings, where Arkansas waterfowl hunters commented on proposed regulations for the coming season.

AGFC proposed the measure to address the rapid proliferation of electronic devices for use in waterfowl hunting, citing concerns about fair chase, ethics and hunting traditions. “I think waterfowl hunters were supportive of the issue,” Shook said, “but they expected other states to join up with us.”

Shook said the proposal stirred debate on the issue of technological advances and their application to waterfowl hunting, but that the debate never reached the level that he and other wildlife officials imagined.

AGFC continues efforts to influence the other 13 states in the Mississippi Flyway Council to follow its lead by imposing restrictions on the devices in their respective states. At the flyway council meeting two weeks ago in Ohio, AGFC representatives were asked to author a letter asking the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for more research on the effects of spinning wing decoys on mallard populations. In the latest counts performed by the FWS, mallard numbers were found to not be growing at the same rate as other species of ducks, AGFC deputy director David Goad said. “The research shows that these mechanical devices increase mallard kill rates. What we want to know is how it affects the overall harvest,” Goad said. “Even with the ban in place, Arkansas hunters continue to kill more mallards than the other states in the Mississippi Flyway combined,” he added.