Last chance for online survey on allowing electronic duck decoys in WA

Tue., Nov. 15, 2011

Retail clerk Steffen Gambill holds a "roboduck," while standing near a display of traditional duck decoys in his sporting goods store Wednesday, Aug. 29, 2001, in Seattle. The plastic replica of a hen mallard has a battery-operated spinning flap attached to its back to simulate wing-flapping movement intended to let real ducks know it's safe to land. Duck hunters had been using the electronic and battery-powered birds to lure the real animal into their gun sights until they were ordered to stop earlierthis month in Washington state. (Associated Press)

By Rich Landers richl@spokesman.com (509) 459-5508

WATERFOWLING — Wednesday is the dealine for hunters to let the state know whether they want to head down the slippery slope of allowing electronic decoys for waterfowling.

Several waterfowl hunting guides have petitioned the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife to consider allowing electronic decoys for waterfowl hunting starting in 2012.

The agency is approaching this petition by asking hunters (WILD ID requierd to vote) to comment by Nov. 16 in an onlin e survey on this single question:

The use of battery-powered and other electronic waterfowl decoys has been prohibited in Washington since 2001. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) would like your opinions on the use of these decoys. Which of the following best describes your viewpoint about battery-powered or electronic decoys used for waterfowl hunting?

Battery-powered and other electronic waterfowl decoys should not be allowed for use in Washington.

Battery-powered and other electronic waterfowl decoys should be allowed for use in Washington as long as their use does not affect existing season lengths and bag limits.

Battery-powered and other electronic waterfowl decoys should be allowed for use in Washington regardless if their use affects existing season lengths and bag limits.

No opinion

This survey is a followup to the first round of hunting proposals presented in late summer. See the results from more than 3,000 respondents to the previous survey on hunting proposals for 2012-14.

* This story was originally published as a post from the blog "Outdoors Blog." Read all stories from this blog