The Department of Natural Resources Board has voted to let hunters kill ducks on open water – instead of having to stay near shore – at 10 more lakes.
Don Kirby of the Wisconsin Waterfowl Association says the decision helps hunters by reducing crowding on other lakes approved for open water hunting, and by potentially reducing the number of non-open water hunters.
“Those users who do engage in this sport will enjoy a superior experience,” he says.
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But duck hunter Linn Duesterbeck of the Lake Koshkonong Wetland Association says the change will hurt the image of hunters. “People are going to be perceiving duck hunters as killers and slaughterers wanting everything out that there is to shoot.”
The DNR says the change has been through several years of review.
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