Goose Hunting: Exemplar Essay To Follow

Goose hunting is one of the waterfowl hunting sports that involve hunting birds for food or leisure. Hunting of geese can take place on crop fields where they feed and on or close to water bodies like swamps, ponds, rivers and lakes. Apparently, goose hunting is not an easy sport. It presents a tougher challenge than other bird hunting genres since it requires considerable preparation for a successful hunting session. What most people don’t know is that goose hunting is protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and implemented by The US Fish &Wildlife Service. This essay outlines the key aspects of goose hunting including when, where and how goose hunting can or should be conducted.
The regulations set by the treaty are meant to protect birds from illegal and unwarranted hunting. Knowing the area allowed or disallowed for goose hunting is a key start for a goose hunter. It can be a crop field or a water body as indicated above, but it can also be a migratory route as geese migrate from one region to another depending on seasons. But it is the responsibility of the hunter to determine if the area he or she is planning to exercise his hunting expedition is cleared by law.
Apparently, it is legal to hunt on or over a natural vegetation but not so for an agricultural land. This is because, on an agricultural land, seeds which are considered baits are scattered intentionally and are likely to lure geese onto such a land. However, if the agricultural land is already harvested or flooded and does not contain seeds that are scattered intentionally, it is considered legal to hunt in such an area.
The other thing that eludes most hunters is how goose hunting should be conducted. The US Fish &Wildlife Service directs that one cannot hunt by the aid of baiting, on or over any baited area, where the hunter should reasonably know that the area is or has been baited. As defined by law, an action is considered baiting if it places, exposes, deposits, distributes or scatters any other that could attract a waterfowl to a hunting area.
However, the Service places into consideration hunting on or over crop fields that are managed in accordance to the recommendations of USDA’s State Cooperative Extension Specialists (CES), a body mandated with the management crop and wildlife. This organization advises farmers on normal planting, harvesting, post-harvest handling, as well as the soil stabilization practices attributed to each crop that takes place in their respective states. Therefore hunting conducted on such fields is not considered as baiting.
It is also illegal to hunt goose from a moving car or boat. The Service advises that the car or boat engine should be switched off when conducting hunting. Again, it is illegal to hunt a goose using a gun with more than three shells. Any gun that does not meet these requirements should be modified in such a manner that only three shells can be accessed. Making sounds to lure geese is illegal but in goose hunting it is allowed but only during the hunting season. The last aspect to consider is when to conduct goose hunting. The Service directs that hunting should only be conducted during the shooting hours that are provided and only in the open season.
In order to conduct goose hunting as a sporting activity, it is highly recommended that hunters familiarize themselves with the federal and state regulations and ensure that they follow these regulations during their hunting expeditions.