Illegal deer baiting hits new levels.

[BrdHunter01]

Are cigarettes illegal? Last I checked they were still legal. Is baiting deer legal? Last I checked it was not. Maybe I'm out of the loop....

BTW: I don't smoke

[Svinekotelett]

hey ARTIC what is a mouth-breather? Not trying to get off topic or be cocky, I just never heard the expression an found it funny.

[feather36]

I get so mad sometimes and wish some people could see farther than the end of their nose. I hate that I have to say something but now I have to. I have had a problem out here near warren mn. with baiting. People misteriously dropping feed corn cobs on the top of my ditch next to my woods and gun shots going off at 4:15 in the morning and [PoorWordUsage] like that. I have called DNR and they didnt seem to think anything of it. I woke up to a dead yearling stud that I had purchased in march this morning and finally they are taking me serious!!But it took several calls and ONE DEAD BEST FRIEND!! BAITING IS UNETHICAL DANGEROUS AND ELLIGAL!! I DONT CARE WHO SAYS DIFFERENT

[feather36]

My colt was shot right smack in the head behind his eye between the hours of 1 am and 5 am. I know this because no shots were heard around my house before I went to bed at 1 and I got up to go hunting at 5. I have 6 well had now its down to 5 head of horses and I cannot justify that. The lady DNR officer who came out said that they shine out in the woods and as soon as a set of eyes pops up they aim and fire and thats why he was hit in the head! I cannot justify this and neither can anyone else. All those people who bait need to get off their hind quarters and do the same as I do. I work for every morsel of venison I get each year walking threw marsh woods muddy fields and water up to my knees.

[feather36]

I cannot get my buddy back and I cant make anymore memories of him to cover up the one of his poor body laying their lifeless in my pasture. He was a black and white homozygous paint colt soon to have a career in breeding and now its done before he even got started. Its a shame that some screw it up for all by doing wrong and betraying trust in an ethical system but one rule applies to all for that reason and I go by it why cant others? If they dont have laws on baiting stupids get in the way and screw things up. Sure it would be nice to be able to bait and watch them gather and have my pic of the herd but if it causes others harm I would rather do it the right way lawfully!!! That being said happy deer hunting all

[merkman]

Just get it over with and ban it all.

It will get all the law abiding people out of the poachers way.

A Poacher is a Poacher and they don't care about laws.

[lakevet]

The large number of ethical hunters turning in baiters shows the severity of the problem. Now those hunters need to light up their legislators phone lines and stuff their email in boxes with demands for stricter laws.

lakevet

[lakevet]

Go to the forum "Outdoor Discussion, Cleanups, and Agendas-Keep it Civil". Under there Rick has a thread labeled "Contact your elected Representatives". If you want to help kill this baiting thing, give your elected representative a loud and clear message that as an ethical hunter you demand they work with the DNR to develop and pass stricter laws.

lakevet

[merkman]

It is already illegal.

Making a poacher break a few more laws, or giving them larger fines (that they prob won't pay anyway) isn't really going to do much, especally if they never get caught.

Asking your elected representatives for more enforcement support (ie dollars for more people, hours, etc), now that makes more sense.

[feather36]

I apologize if I came a little unglued but now this morning instead of hunting the whole day i have to go and find and pay for a guy with a back hoe to come and dig a plot for my friend and put him in the ground and its going to cost an arm and a leg for me. I have to pay for what the poachers did and it ticks me off to the fullest

[picksbigwagon]

Feather, it saddens me to hear that someone shot your colt, it actually sickens me and when they find the yahoo's that did it, I hope they spend as much time in the grey bar hotel as is allowed. I am sure that once the Metro news outlets catch wind of this story, everyone on in MN will know about this and the poachers will get caught.

As far as making more laws, why? The people who are breaking the laws now will continue to break the laws, as sportmens and women, it is our responsibility to report these poachers to the local authorities, DNR, County Sherrif or whoever else can investigate such things. People know who is doing these things and if you hear about it, you need to report it. I am a teacher and therefore a mandatory reporter, If you hunt or fish and see illegal activity and don't report it, you are aiding and abetting these illegal activities....

[lakevet]

Excellent point about more funding. Increased penalties don't affect the hard core, but do help the "average joe" resist the temptation that they have watched all year on the video/cable/satellite shows.

lakevet

[CatchPhotoFilet]

I dont think someone who shines an animal and shoots it is not a close comparison to someone who baits a deer. those are two completely different activities. Baiting a deer for all you "ethical" hunters out there, baiting provides an "ethical" way of harvesting an animal with a well placed shot such as to the neck or head that will inflict no pain to the animal and result in an immediate death. Not a shot at over 100yds maybe as many as 300yds wounds the animal with a poor shot and end up never being able to find it.Wounding and animal and not being able to find it is pretty ethical. Maybe we should ban all shots over 100yds? maybe we should make everyone pass a shooting accuracy test? that would really be the only way to make sure all hunters were "ethical" If i knew someone who was baiting I would not turn them in. Its not my role to tell the teacher johnny is doing something wrong. He/she is a grown adult and knows the possibilities or the outcomes. I dont call in every car that goes 80mph in a 70. I dont tell my boss on someone who skips out of work 10mins early. Everyone just needs to mind their own business I think. Remember its the smart deer that dont get shot and its the smart criminal that doesnt get caught. basically i say who really cares!ban all other kinds of attractants, scents, food plots,calls and then ill say ban baiting.

[southwest]

Points well stated, I would be willing to bet that all the "ethical hunters" on here, or the one that call themselves that, all have done something that maybe not quite up to everyones ethical standards. I think its unethical to go on this forum and state what type ethical a hunter you are without anyone verifing it. The guys that says more funding, well news alert the state is broke, the ethical thing to do would be to have all the ethical guys donate all there wages to the state to go after the baiters, 2 line guys, overlimit guys. I dont want to pay anymore to have it wasted by the state. You give them more they will waste more. If someone is willing to take the stupid chance to lose their gun, and hunting privleages over a baited deer, thats there deal and i could care less. Talk about sometime good like the guy that shot the huge 8 pointer,nice deer. Largest 8 pointer ever. How do you fix those type of guys? Spend more money we dont have?

[B. Amish]

baiting is not healthy for the deer. it messes with their digestive system. if people that bait were so ethical they would know about this.

Quote:

Pros

Probably the biggest reason for corn’s popularity as a feed ingredient can be found in its nutrient profile. Energy, in the form of carbohydrates and fats/oils, make up the largest dietary need for all animals. Corn has a fat content of approximately 4 percent and is loaded with carbohydrates in the form of highly digestible starch. This combination makes corn akin to rocket fuel in terms of energy value.

When deer consume corn, it is rapidly digested by specific rumen microbes that feed largely on starch. The acids produced by this fermentation process can drop the pH in rumen by an amount proportional to the amount of corn consumed. If consumed in large amounts, the microbes responsible for fiber digestion (cellulose and hemicellulose) decrease in number due to lack of food and decreased pH.

The longer corn is consumed, the more the rumen microbial population shifts to a higher percentage of starch digesting microbes and the lower the pH will drop. As long as this process occurs gradually — and at least some forage or fiber is present in the diet — the deer’s rumen will adjust and few problems will occur.

Cons

If the corn is immediately taken away or no longer available following "slug" (binge) eating and deer return to a high fiber diet, the rumen microbial population cannot effectively digest the fibrous foods. Deer will effectively have little to no nutrients until the rumen population can adjust to the high-fiber diet. In essence, a type of starvation occurs.

Many diseases are spread via contact — whether directly or indirectly. So, the argument of a corn “pile” increasing the odds of spreading disease is a valid point, especially if practicing “slug” feeding. This will result in corn being present for multiple days, allowing several deer to use the same pile and increase the chances of disease transmission.

Taken from Deer & Deer Hunting. Corn: Blessing or Curse? by, Matt Harper

[Gas Man]

Funny, I have always thought of food plots as a form of stewardship, not as a stand location for next year.

Gas Man

[feather36]

The place at the top of the dike over looking my woods and pasture has been repeatedly baited. I have contacted DNR several times and they thought it was a mistake but I think not after yesterday morning. There has been feed corn placed in piles several times at the top of the dike next to the road and they told me it had probably dropped off the truck had a spill. I know this is directly related to what happend with my colt. Im not saying thats how it is everywhere Im just saying because of people like this we should all abide so knowone else has to go threw the pain I did.

[Arctic]

The state of Minnesota has over a MILLION DEER. Why would anyone feel the need to hunt them over bait? Put in your time and you should get your deer. Baiting deer is illegal because it increases the likelihood of disease transmission, and has not been part of the hunting tradition in this state. This is not Wisconsin. They have Chronic Wasting Disease in their herd. We do not.

I would like my kids and grandkids to be able to hunt. We hunters are in a declining minority, and our hunting priviledges, unlike our RIGHT to bear arms, are largely at the whim of the general voting public, most of whom DO NOT HUNT.

Every article in the paper that depicts "hunters" killing livestock or pets, poaching,

killing deer over bait, etc. erodes support for hunting. GET IT?

[feather36]

Ok so I got business taken care of with my buddy out back and hes gone so now Im back to deer hunting again and its unbelievable how the deer would dissappear so quick. I dont see any. Not in the tree rows not in woods around my section not anywhere for miles. It doesnt even look like the rut is on. Nothing peaking out from any trees at all whatsoever..Anyone else having the same luck??

[zepman]

The whole baiting issue is funny to me. I just don't understand what gratification a hunter can get from taking a deer over bait/illegally? Especially if the deer is one which the hunter will put on his wall. Boy, there's a nice memory of a deer shot while breaking the law.

[Deerstalker]

ethics aside... baiting for deer is just downright cheap. period.

[delcecchi]

If the deer was going to spoil before you could get it out of the woods, maybe you shouldn't have shot it. At least that is along the lines of what folks have been ripping on pawlenty for. :-)

Seriously, if there were several of you, you could perhaps have drug it out on foot. Or skinned it there if there were trees around. Although 3 hours doesn't really sound like a problem to me so the above discussion is really moot. You did the right thing in waiting.

(you can't even make yoghurt in three hours. I don't think even a lake trout would go bad in three hours at 59 degrees)

[BobT]

That wasn't my point. The argument from certain posters has been that they think baiting should be legal and, without looking it up, I think I am almost quoting word for word, "Go for it!"

Using my ATV between 2:00 and dark is illegal therefore I cannot do it and I would never tell someone to "Go for it!" simply because I don't like this rule.

Using bait in MN is illegal therefore it is not appropriate to tell others to "Go for it!" simply because you don't like the rule.

This thread has rapidly gone off track from a question of legality to one of ethics. I'm surprised it hasn't been closed already.