Duck hunting season is underway, and Maryland Natural Resources Police are cracking down on illegal hunting.
Two Montgomery County men were caught red-handed hunting waterfowl with the help of bait last week, according to NRP. The agency says officers found “shelled corn bait” on October 8 on the Potomac River near Watts Branch. The officers set up surveillance in the area and two days later, watched two hunters set up in their blind—right where the bait was located.
NRP says the officers saw the men, 35-year-old Scott Foulger of Darnestown, Maryland and 65-year-old Bryant Foulger of Potomac, fire multiple shots at ducks “which flew directly into the spot they had set up,” according to police.
Both Foulgers apparently denied knowing that the area was baited, but police say corn kernels were found in front of their hunting blind and also in the hunter’s boat.
In addition to the baiting charges against both men, Bryant Foulger was charged with failure to get a Maryland migratory game bird stamp, the hunting license required to hunt all migratory game birds in the state. Anytime they’re hunting, Marylanders must have printed validation on them showing proof they purchased a Migratory Game Bird Stamp.
If convicted, the men face up to $1,500 in fines per baiting violation and a $250 bird stamp fine.
-Meg Walburn Viviano
