A ROBODUK RIFT NEW DECOY CAUSING DEBATE OVER HUNTING STRATEGY.Byline: Keith Lair Staff Writer Hunters can now duck the decoy DECOY. A pond used for the breeding and maintenance of water-fowl. 11 Mod. 74, 130; S. C. 3 Salk. 9; Holt, 14 11 East, 571. dilemma. Just before the start of last year's duck season, a Marysville company introduced RoboDuk, which claims it enables hunters to have greater success. The motorized mo·tor·ize tr.v. mo·tor·ized, mo·tor·iz·ing, mo·tor·iz·es 1. To equip with a motor. 2. To supply with motor-driven vehicles. 3. To provide with automobiles. ducks created quite a stir in the duck-hunting community. Should hunters use the decoys, which have spinning wings, to improve their chances of reaching their bag limit? Or should hunters rely on traditional duck-hunting techniques? ``What controversy?'' says Department of Fish senior wildlife biologist ''' The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please [ improve this article] or discuss the issue on the talk page. A wildlife biologist is someone who studies wild animals and their habitats. Dan Yparraguirre, the state's leading biologist in the migratory game bird program and Wildlife Programs Branch. ``There's no longer a controversy in California; there may be one in other states. For us, it's `Been there, done that.' '' RoboDuk was not the first motorized duck decoy. However, it was the first to have spinning wings. Inventor Finlay Williams says the two-colored wing movement leads flying ducks to see the decoy as either landing or taking off. ``Last year, we were getting calls from hunters in blinds telling us it was working like crazy,'' said Paige Homen, daughter of Williams and an employee of RoboDuk. With the first day of the 100-day waterfowl waterfowl, common term for members of the order Anseriformes, wild, aquatic, typically freshwater birds including ducks, geese, and screamers. In Great Britain the term is also used to designate species kept for ornamental purposes on private lakes or ponds, while in season this week, Yparraguirre says studies by DFG DFG Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Council) DFG Department of Fish and Game DFG District Factor Group DFG Data Flow Graph DFG Difference Frequency Generation DFG Diode Function Generator DFG Dog Faced Gremlin and UC Davis professor John M. Eudie show the new decoys do increase a hunter's chances to improve their bag, but do not do so at the expense of harming the state's harvest. ``It's more of a philosophical issue than one of science,'' Yparraguirre says. ``We've done harvesting of ducks for 100 years and by looking at the data, there has been no change. ``It's like the controversy with driving and cell phones. They've found that driving while talking on a cell phone can increase the chance for an accident, but the total number of accidents remains the same.'' Yparraguirre said in last year's California flyway flyway: see migration of animals. there were 1.2 million birds compared to 1.4 million in 1998. Last year, there were 460,000 mallards - the most susceptible to the RoboDuk - compared to 310,000 in 1998. ``All said and done, we're not seeing enough depredation DEPREDATION, French law. The pillage which is made of the goods of a decedent. Ferr. Mod. h.t. to panic,'' he said. ``With all the objective evidence, I do not see anything to get excited about.'' But duck hunters are definitely getting excited, and it's not just because the season opens this weekend (Friday in the Colorado River zone, Saturday in the Northeastern zone and Oct. 14 for the rest of the state). And they're taking different sides, too. The national organization Ducks Unlimited has ignored the issue, even showing off the motorized devices at its national convention. The California Waterfowl Association The California Waterfowl Association is a non-profit organization established in 1945 and dedicated to the conservation and enhancement of California's waterfowl, their habitats and hunting heritage. External links
``This past season,'' CWA CWA Clean Water Act (33 USC) CWA Communications Workers of America CWA Concerned Women for America CWA CEN Workshop Agreement (European pre-normative document) CWA County Warning Area CWA Clean Water Action member Derek Smith of Danville writes in a letter to the organization's magazine, ``there has been a little tweaking tweaking Vox populi Fine-tuning to produce optimal results of the laws of ethical hunting. What I'm talking about are the true, moral reasons for spending fall and winter mornings hunting the marsh. . . . Sure these tools fool the ducks and bring them in closer for a cleaner kill, but at the same time, it's ruining and degrading the sport of duck hunting. In fact, it has turned the sport of hunting ducks into the blood sport of killing ducks. And that's not what hunting is about.'' CWA president Bob McLandress has addressed the issue. On the DFG and underneath all motorized advertisements in the organization's magazine is the line: ``The appearance of advertisers, or their identification as members, does not constitute an endorsement of the products or services advertised.'' Homen says her company was surprised by the controversy it created. ``I think it started because they work so well,'' Homen said. ``It caught all of the attention.'' Bill Bowden of the San Gabriel Valley The San Gabriel Valley is one of the principal valleys of southern California. It lies to the east of the city of Los Angeles, to the north of the Puente Hills, to the south of the San Gabriel Mountains, and to the west of the Inland Empire. chapter of Ducks Unlimited says he's seen the RoboDuk in use, and likes it. ``They work pretty good,'' he says. ``I would absolutely use it.'' CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1) RoboDuk, a motorized duck decoy, has caused a stir among traditional hunters, who feel it takes the sport out of duck hunting. (2) Beware the motorized RoboDuk, which makes use of spinning wings to lure more ducks even closer to hunters than past decoys. Daily News File Photo |
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