2002-12  BAITING DEER

Prior to 1991, deer baiting was not prevalent in Minnesota. Most hunters believed the use of bait was illegal and looked on those who did bait as being unethical.  A few hunters would put out a salt block or some apples, but that was about the extent of baiting.

In the adjoining states of Wisconsin and Michigan, deer baiting has been legal for years and growing in popularity.  It has also become controversial and created serious problems including, the spread of disease between deer and livestock, competition among hunters, violation of the principals of ethics and fair chase, and an increase in poaching activity.  In 1991, the Minnesota DNR placed restrictions on the use of bait for deer hunting in an effort to prevent the use of bait by Minnesota hunters and the problems it causes.

Unfortunately, Minnesota's baiting regulations have not been effective in preventing the use of bait due to vagueness and loopholes in the language. The regulations have actually increased the use of bait by the state's deer hunters by informing them that baiting is legal if done within certain restrictions. The result is that deer baiting in Minnesota has rapidly grown in popularity, has become widespread and will become a hunting tradition if not stopped soon.

Minnesota Game and Fish Rules define bait as grains, fruit, vegetables, hay or other food transported and placed for the purpose of attracting deer (6232.0200). Liquid scents, salt, minerals, standing crops and food plots are not considered bait. The rules further states that a person may not place bait for the purpose of taking deer (6232.0300). The regulation does not prevent people from feeding deer and other wildlife for recreational viewing or wildlife management purposes.

The way this regulation has been interpreted is that if a hunter is within sight of bait or hunting over bait it is illegal. However, a hunter may legally hunt trails that lead to a bait pile or in the vicinity of bait piles, so long as he can't see them. There is also no time restriction on baiting deer, so a hunter can have a bait-pile under his stand and remove it the night before opening day and still be legal.  Page 55 of the 2001 Minnesota hunting synopsis tells hunters exactly how to avoid violating the baiting regulations.

As a result of these loopholes, many hunters now feed deer around their hunting camps, on trails that lead to their stands or just out of sight of their shooting lanes. They are using feeders or large piles of corn, sunflowers, sugar beets, carrots, pumpkins and apples to attract deer. Most hunters are staying just far enough away from the bait to be legal, making enforcement of the baiting regulation nearly impossible.

Proponents of baiting claim that it is an age-old hunting technique.  They believe that baiting allows hunters to see more deer and other wildlife, and that it improves the chances of harvesting a deer and of making quick, clean, kills at short range. They also claim that baiting is necessary to compete with other hunters, and that it will help insure the future of deer hunting by attracting the next generation of hunters who have grown up in a results-oriented society.

The 1990's have seen a steady increase in deer feeding, the legal use of bait for deer hunting and the illegal use of bait for hunting and poaching. The opponents of deer baiting are concerned about these growing problems and the future of deer hunting.

Bait causes deer to feed close together increasing the likelihood of infecting each other and transmitting disease to livestock. Farmers in Michigan became so concerned about the transmission of bovine tuberculosis via nose-to-nose contact of deer at bait piles, that all forms of deer feeding were banned in several counties in that state. Another disease of concern in Minnesota is chronic wasting disease. Captive elk from infected herds have been found in Minnesota. If this disease ever escapes into our wild deer population it could be quickly spread by deer in close contact at feeders with devastating results to Minnesota's deer herd. Baiting restrictions would help reduce this threat.

Deer baiting can change deer feeding habits and movements. Deer concentrate in areas with bait piles and travel less than they do when feeding on natural foods. Deer who live most of the year in an area may be enticed away during the hunting season by bait on adjacent lands, thus pre-empting hunting opportunity of those who don't bait. This leads to competition between hunters who start baiting to compete with neighboring hunters or try to outdo their neighbor's bait piles. Baiting on private property may move deer off public lands where most hunters don't have access to the deer. This may also make it more difficult for the state to manage and control deer populations.

Baiting decreases the quality of the sport of deer hunting. The ethical deer hunter practicing fair chase is at a disadvantage. Baiting favors those hunters who are more concerned about killing something than having a quality hunting experience. A true hunter must acquire the skills of reading deer sign, scouting, and patiently waiting at a stand or stalking to pursue unrestrained animals living in a natural environment. Baiting allows hunters to easily take deer without learning these skills or investing much time into the sport. Baiting also makes it difficult to defend the sport of deer hunting against criticism from non-hunters and anti-hunters by discrediting the hunter's claim of giving animals a fair chance.

Deer baiting has also led to an increase in illegal hunting activity.  Conservation officers are finding more and more cases of hunters illegally taking deer directly over bait piles during the hunting season and poaching deer at night over lighted bait piles, often right at their deer shacks. The ease of attracting deer to bait and seeing trophy deer tempts hunters to illegally take deer. The current baiting regulation makes it very difficult for Conservation Officers to enforce illegal baiting because deer feeding and legal baiting is so prevalent.

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Minnesota Division of the Izaak Walton League of America, in convention  April 28, 2002, at Detroit Lakes, Minnesota, supports an improved deer baiting regulation that is enforceable and that has much greater restrictions on the timing and placement of bait than currently exists. We believe that the future of ethical deer hunting is at stake.  The Minnesota Division supports the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources in its effort to strengthen deer baiting regulations. We support a ban on the use of deer bait or deer feed by deer hunters from two weeks prior to until the end of Minnesota's deer hunting seasons (September through December). Hunters should also be required to hunt a substantial distance (500 feet or more) away from food piles, deer feeders or other wildlife feeders to hunt legally.

We believe that hunter ethics and the concept of fair chase are critical to maintaining the future of the deer hunting sport and urge the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources to take a leadership role in preserving the tradition of true deer hunting in Minnesota.

McCabe Chapter
MN Division of the IWLA