Electronic decoys put duck-hunting ethics under fire

Roboducks are the latest in decoy technology. These ultra-realistic, battery-operated, mechanical ducks are used by hunters to lure real ducks into shooting range.

The faux fowl have ruffled a lot of feathers in the hunting community, pitting sportsman against sportsman in a debate over the ethics of hunting and technology's role in and its affect on the great outdoors.

Earlier this month, Washington became the second state in the country to ban the use of electronic and battery-powered duck decoys, responding to concerns that they were not only unsportsmanlike but so effective they could deplete the duck population and prompt restrictions on waterfowl hunting.

Pennsylvania was the first state to make electronic decoys illegal. And last week, the California Department of Fish and Game voted to prohibit hunters from using them during the first half of the season.

"It's beyond me how any person could hunt these birds with a mechanical device," says Worth Mathewson, a 50-year veteran of duck hunting and author of books such as "Western Bird Hunting" and "Wildfowling Tales, Volume 1 and 2." "It goes against everything that I think a sportsman should be."

Mathewson, who lives in Oregon and hunts in Washington, says Washington state should be proud that it was among the first to ban these mechanical mallards. But plenty of hunters don't agree. Among them is Steffen Gambill, a duck hunter and a sales clerk at Outdoor Emporium, a store that sold the mechanical decoys before the ban. He says Washington state sporting goods retailers are taking a hit at the cash register as they lose decoy sales and find themselves stuck with unsold inventory.

"It's a booming industry and last year it really picked up. We sold them out and got more and sold them out again," Gambill says. Plus, "I personally like them because they do enhance my hunts," as he's likely to bag more ducks with the mechanized decoys than without.

For that very reason, hunters around the country have been snatching up all manner of robobirds.

There's the WonderDuck, the RoboDuk, the Mallard Machine, the Mojo Mallard and the Roto Duck, to name just a few. Walter Solomon ("Everybody calls me Mr. WonderDuck") says he was the first to create a decoy with flapping wings and paddling feet eight years ago. He says he sold 21,000 of the devices last year.

The technology is simple -- standard batteries and a small drive motor power the decoys. Some flap their wings while others feature wings that rotate. Some paddle around the water. And most are pricey, usually running between $100 and $200 each.

"They're definitely effective," Gambill says, although he points out that the ducks tend to get wise to the trick late in the season.

Will Roehl, one of the two Washington Fish and Wildlife commissioners who voted against the ban, says many hunters believe these decoys lure the ducks closer than normal, allowing hunters a more accurate shot so they kill, rather than wound, the birds.

Many hunters also point out that Washington has an abundant duck population -- one that's nowhere near depletion. In fact, Washington ranks second among Western states in the number of wintering waterfowl. North America is currently experiencing a record number of birds breeding, says Don Kraege, waterfowl section manager with the Department of Fish and Wildlife.

But Russ Cahill, chair of the wildlife commission and one of six who voted for the ban, says the roboducks go against the "fair chase" ethic, which calls for sportsmen to hunt in a way that doesn't give them an improper advantage over their prey.

In the 1930s, the federal government made it illegal for a hunter to throw out food or tie up a live duck in order to lure other birds. In the 1950s, regulators made it illegal to play a recording of living birds.

Many hunters say robotic decoys fit in the same category and, more importantly, are a giant step down the slippery slope into technological overkill.

"In the future, you could have a remote-control duck that could walk around the field, flap its wings and take a crap if you wanted it to," Mathewson says.

"Some of us -- me included -- felt that the hunting grounds were getting to be an electronic place," Cahill says. "There are people calling each other on cell phones saying 'There's a deer headed your way.' It takes away from the experience that hunting traditionally had."

Traditional duck decoys are simple things made of wood, cork, foam or, more recently, plastic. They don't do anything but stand there or float on the water.

Purists argue the fine art of duck hunting is all about learning where and in what pattern to set up the decoys. They use calls to imitate the sound of ducks in order to lure the birds to them. This process takes a lot of practice and a lot of time to get right -- and that's the whole point.

"(Mechanical decoys) are a shortcut into hunting," says Mathewson. "People who don't want to take the time and effort to learn how to call, how to place their decoys, how to be a good duck hunter, can just use one of these stupid things. It makes a lot of average hunters that wouldn't kill many ducks to start with much more successful. I think a lot of guys, if they couldn't use this easy way out, they wouldn't be hunting at all."

While the wildlife commission has cast its vote, the debate over roboducks remains far from over.

State Rep. Jim Buck, R-Olympia, co-chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee and a long-time duck hunter who has been known on occasion to use a mechanical duck or two, is looking into the issue. He says he's not yet planning any legislative action, but he does intend to speak to the commission about it.

"I seriously question whether they create the advantage that people say they do," he says. "I've never seen a tornado formation of ducks come to a mechanical decoy. I think it's a lot of ado over nothing."

P-I reporter Winda Benedetti can be reached at 206-448-8223 or windabenedetti@seattlepi.com

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