Can I use electric rotating wing decoys for wildfowling?

Many wildfowlers regard the use of electric decoys as unsporting.

By Shooting Times

Tuesday, 22 November 2011

An American shooting friend uses electric rotating wing decoys for wildfowling in the US, and he tells me they are very effective.

Are they legal in the UK? If so, should I use one here?

WILDFOWLING
Graham Downing
The Wildlife and Countryside Act, which regulates the methods used to kill wild birds, prohibits the use of sound recordings for decoying.

It also prohibits the setting of a device calculated to cause bodily injury to a wild bird coming into contact with it, and includes any electrical device for killing, stunning or frightening.

The electric wing decoy is none of these things and is therefore not prohibited by the Act.

However, many wildfowlers regard the use of the device as unsporting and, as a result, some wildfowling clubs prohibit their use over club marshes.

Therefore, before you consider the acquisition of one of these devices, the onus will be on you to determine whether it is appropriate to do so and to ensure you do not breach any local rules.