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Department of Justice
U.S. Attorney’s Office
District of Connecticut
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, November 1, 2022

Westbrook Man Fined $4,000 for Baiting Ducks in Violation of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act

Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and James Casey, Regional Chief, Division of Refuge Law Enforcement, announced that DAVID FOSTER, 51, of Westbrook, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Kari A. Dooley in Bridgeport for violating the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Judge Dooley ordered Foster to pay a $4,000 fine.

According to court documents and statements made in court, in late September and early October 2020, after receiving an anonymous complaint, the Connecticut Environmental Conservation Police (EnCon) and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service personnel investigated the spreading of whole kernel corn around a hunting blind on Menunketesuck Island in Westbrook. Foster had received a summons for waterfowl baiting/taking violations in the same area in October 2009. On October 10, 2020, which was the opening day of duck hunting season, officers who had established surveillance near the duck blind observed Foster, two other hunters shoot and retrieve ducks over the area that had been baited. When they finished, officers conducted a compliance check. Under questioning, Foster admitted that he had spread corn over the hunting area to attract ducks.

Foster pleaded guilty on August 2, 2022.

This matter was investigated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Division of Refuge Law Enforcement, and the Connecticut Environmental Conservation Police. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nathaniel J. Gentile.

Topic(s):
Wildlife
Component(s):
USAO - Connecticut
Updated November 1, 2022