feeeding deer

[winterwalleye]

The legislature is trying to get a new law passed to outlaw feeding from Sept31 to Dec 31. It sounds like a good idea to me,what do you think.Its in the SP pioneer press.

[winterwalleye]

My mistake I meant from Sept 1 to Dec 31

[Jameson]

Thumbs up!!!!

[PEATMOSS]

This will, of course not apply to the nicely groomed turnip and rapeseed plantings, grain "spills" and other "accepted agricultural practices,bird feeders 6'off the ground etc.,I'm assuming.....

[hockeybc69]

Right on Peaty!!!

Very good move!!!!!!!

[Musky Buck]

Fair enough.

[BeezeHound]

Sounds like a good idea, and it shouldn't apply to nicely groomed turnip and rapeseed plantings as these are a food source for more than just a week or two.

[certified jumbo]

amen!!! i wish we would've started this along time ago. hopefully it will get through. and of course it won't include standing corn, rape, glover, soy beans, turnips, etc.

[lichen fox]

While I think it is a good thing, don't hold your breath! There are many non-hunters that love to feed deer and other wildlife, just to see them in thier back yard, (or perhaps keep them safe from hunters)...We already have rules in place that address this issue when it comes to hunting...why make more? You can bet the non-hunting public that enjoys feeding wildlife will raise a stink about this as they did in the TB zone when they tried to outlaw it...thus creating the bird feeders 6 feet off the ground rule that was eventually taken out of the equasion last year.

[certified jumbo]

Lichen,

I understand your point, however current rules are not working and more importantly are difficult to enforce because of loopholes. Eliminate all feeding and its not a problem anymore. Those that want to feed recreationally can start on January 1st. I am one who enjoys feeding deer and I already don't start until January 1st.

But no question, I agree with you lichen, there will be plenty of people not happy.

[lichen fox]

The current rules, when it comes to what is considered baiting, and/or hunting over bait, were clearly defined over the last couple of years...And, last year the DNR had "record numbers" of baiting complaints and violations!! It wasn't because of any "loopholes" it was simply because, regardless of what the law is, some people chose to "take thier chances" and put out feed/bait...if they read the current laws it is clearly against the law...and based on the record number of convictions from last fall "under the current law"...I don't see that shows it is "difficult to enforce"...it would seem otherwise...they cleared up the "confusion" last year and stepped up enforcement to "make a statement"....anyone who's thinking about baiting in the coming seasons must surely know the possible consequences unless they've had thier head under a rock since last September! And adding one more line that only sets date parameters won't make it any "easier" to enforce...I say leave it the way it is, they did a bang-up job of enforcing it last fall...why fix what aint' broken...

[certified jumbo]

Thats cool, I respectively disagree.

I like many hunters as well as the stand by MDHA (president) also are in favor of this bill.

Also, there are a lot of issues present with baiting. The whole bait being gone 10 days before you hunt is a [PoorWordUsage] sandwich, what if your neighbor is recreationally baiting and you set up on the property line, what if you put bait a half mile from where you sit?? There are so many sticky things the list could go on forever.

If we create a 4 month ban. There are no excuses, its cut and dry. Leaving the sitaution as is clearly in my mind will not work.

[B. Amish]

If we create a 4 month ban. There are no excuses, its cut and dry.

I totally agree.

[Riverratpete]

I'm totally onboard with the feeding ban and hunting over/around bait. The problem they have is that they have to make the penalties REALLY painful so that the knuckleheads that feel that they need to cheat get the message...That will get the boarder line people..the hard core baiters/cheaters..kinda like the drunk drivers after numerous convictions.."some mens just can't be reached"

[PEATMOSS]

It's not so much the feeding ban that irks me as the hypocracy of the whole situation. Somehow we've arrived at the notion that folks that put out feed to attract deer to their hunting area are the dregs of society, but if you've got the time,money and land to plant turnips and rapeseed in the middle of a pine forest then you're a great steward of the land. Shoot a deer over a pile of corn, you're a poacher. Shoot a deer over a 2 acre plot of exotic vegetation, great white hunter.

And, would the foodplot apologists PLEASE, for the love of pete stop hiding behind the "benificial to all wildlife " excuse. Foodplots are planted to attract deer to ones property and keep them there. Period. Are there some marginal benifits to other wildlife? Sure. Ok. But, if foodplots didn't attract deer, there wouldn't be any and everyone knows this.

I know I'm not the only one that's sick to death of this ethical double standard.

[Musky Buck]

Sorry but it is beneficial to lots of wildlife. So the pheasant folk would stop putting in food plots. OK, and the DNR would quite putting in food plots in the Rum river state forest, ok.

[B. Amish]

It's not so much the feeding ban that irks me as the hypocracy of the whole situation. Somehow we've arrived at the notion that folks that put out feed to attract deer to their hunting area are the dregs of society, but if you've got the time,money and land to plant turnips and rapeseed in the middle of a pine forest then you're a great steward of the land. Shoot a deer over a pile of corn, you're a poacher. Shoot a deer over a 2 acre plot of exotic vegetation, great white hunter.

And, would the foodplot apologists PLEASE, for the love of pete stop hiding behind the "benificial to all wildlife " excuse. Foodplots are planted to attract deer to ones property and keep them there. Period. Are there some marginal benifits to other wildlife? Sure. Ok. But, if foodplots didn't attract deer, there wouldn't be any and everyone knows this.

I know I'm not the only one that's sick to death of this ethical double standard.

I also totally agree with this.

[PEATMOSS]

Sorry but it is beneficial to lots of wildlife. So the pheasant folk would stop putting in food plots. OK, and the DNR would quite putting in food plots in the Rum river state forest, ok.

You know what kind of foodplots I'm refering to. Don't muddy this up with silliness.

[hockeybc69]

I admit.

I plant food plots to attract and retain wildlife of all kinds.

Period.

Or I could just rent out the land to a farmer to plant crops for harvest and have the same return. Wildlife would come and eat whats there. Heck, then I dont even have to put any work into it. Hmmmm. Silly me.

At least then becomes OK by the anti food plotters if you hunt on or near croplands.

Makes no sense if you really put some thought to it.

[PEATMOSS]

What makes no sense is the ethical double standards.

I've got no major problems with you putting foodplots on your land and hunting over them, heck, build yourself a comfy heated enclosed stand with sliding windows while you're at it.

Just don't get your undies in a bunch when the common folk hunting the nearby properties do what they feel they need to do to get the deer to stick around their hunting grounds.

[Musky Buck]

People make it sound like there'd be no deer on these lands that people put food plots into, it's only the plot holding the deer not the carrying capacity of the acreage. That's why bc they are legal because we can't stop farming or tell the farmers you have to have it combined and plowed under by Nov. 1st every year. I'm wide open on the topic really, my grandpa's knew baiting is a lazy man's game but if you want me hauling in gravity boxes full of corn into my 3 swamps I'm game, I could easily ruin nearly every fringe hunters hunt and lower their property values by keeping most of the deer far away from those guys. They just sit and watch my property lines the way it is, if I could strategically put the food piles where I want them I'd be stylin. Yes to bait I say so I can end about 20 guys season before it starts. I think I'd start by baiting the best thickest areas the furthest away from other hunters. The other benefit is I can only hunt 1 area being 1 guy so 2 areas would be unhunted every day, I'm liking it. I think I have roughly 40-50 deer combined on the 3 now so by baiting I might double that plus the fringe boys would get squat, let's push this through ASAP.

[RuttenBuck]

How many baiters would put their piles of bait out if the hunting season was closed for a season? Not very many probably, besides a few poachers. How many food plotters would still spend hours of time, money and sweat putting in the plots solely for the "benefit of wildlife". A LOT! I for surely would and I bet all the other guys I know who put food plots in would too.

[PEATMOSS]

Huh?

[PEATMOSS]

How many baiters would put their piles of bait out if the hunting season was closed for a season? Not very many probably, besides a few poachers. How many food plotters would still spend hours of time, money and sweat putting in the plots solely for the "benefit of wildlife". A LOT! I for surely would and I bet all the other guys I know who put food plots in would too.

Ok, I'm really trying to understand this. Are you saying that because of the time,money and effort you put in you are ethically justified in shooting deer over an artificial feed source? Are you saying that because a foodplot provides some benifit to other wildlife that you are then absolved of any ethical responsibility?

RuttenBuck, I don't know who you think you're fooling when you say that folks would establish and maintain their foodplots without a hunting benefit. I'm not buying that for a second.

[Musky Buck]

I agree rutten. We don't need millions of bags of corn dumped all over our state. Maybe we could synchronize everyone's timed feeder to exact time and see if we could set a record. At least if a deer is going to go eat on a food plot or field it can do so at it's leisure or it can be completely nocturnal knowing the field is there and won't be taken away, not 7:00am timed feeder or 4:00pm timed feeder. We lived fine without it for this long and now with lower deer numbers I think the bait idea is a bad one, many states allowing it are starting to restrict or reevaluate it's purpose. The deer are so nocturnal to my friends food plot he is considering plowing it under, but he can't because he sees turkeys in it, pheasants, occasional grouse but he hasn't taken a mature buck there yet, been 7 years. A neighbor down my road puts in 2 food plots every year and is a non-hunter, he does let 2 guys hunt there, the wildlife in his area went from non-existant almost to unreal.