Shooting Waterfowl Over Influence of Bait

October 22, 2009

Question: We own a duck club with two ponds on the property. Members shoot waterfowl over one pond while the other has a floating corn feeder for wood ducks on it. We want to keep shooting the club pond during the season but also want to keep the feeding station out on the other pond for the wood ducks during this time. The regulations say baiting for migratory birds is prohibited and that it is illegal to “hunt over” bait. What is the minimum distance required to be maintained between the feeding station and our shooting pond before feeding is considered baiting? Thanks in advance. (Stacy M.)

Answer: Waterfowl and migratory bird regulations are set by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. While there are no minimum distance requirements specified in the regulations, it’s clear that you may not keep the floating corn feeder on another pond if it in any way influences waterfowl to come into shooting range for hunting. Even if the feeder is just intended to be for wood ducks, anything that can be determined to be bait that influences waterfowl of any species to come in within range for the purposes of hunting them could be considered bait and is illegal.

This principle applies even if the feeding station or baiting is on a neighbor’s property. While hunters may not have control over what a neighbor is doing, they do have control over hunting on their own property or hunt club. Hunters may not shoot any birds that come into range if those birds are being influenced to come in for bait, even if on another’s property. In addition, all feed or bait must be removed 10 days prior to hunting over it, and the responsibility to know it is all gone is upon the person hunting over its influence.