Westbrook Man, 51, Pleads Guilty To Shooting 'Baited' Ducks: Feds

WESTBROOK, CT —A 51-year-old Westbrook man pleaded guilty to illegally baiting ducks in violation of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, the Justice Department announced.

David Foster appeared before a federal judge in Bridgeport Tuesday, according to prosecutors.

The case began with an anonymous tip, according to Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and James Casey, Regional Chief, Division of Refuge Law Enforcement.

In late September and early October 2020, Connecticut Environmental Conservation Police and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service personnel investigated the spreading of whole kernel corn around a hunting blind on Menunketesuck Island in Westbrook, according to court documents.

Foster had received a summons for waterfowl baiting/taking violations in the same area in October 2009, federal prosecutors and investigators said. On October 10, 2020, which was the opening day of duck hunting season, officers who had established surveillance near the duck blind saw Foster and two other hunters shoot and retrieve ducks over the area that had been baited, Avery said. When they finished, officers conducted a compliance check and, "under questioning, Foster admitted that he had spread corn over the hunting area to attract ducks," prosecutors said.

Foster, who'll be sentenced Oct. 28, faces a maximum one year in federal prison, and a fine of up to $100,000, Avery said.

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