Baiting, I know this has been discussed and discussed this is just my rant....LOL

[Baker]

I take responsibility for starting this post. I was NOT setting out to cause a big ruckus! LOL
I do truly hope that nobody harbors terrible feelings towards someone on this forum who does or doesnt use bait. I have us going down a rabbit hole I never really intended. My true intention was just expressing how F'n annoyed I was with listening to a podcast from 2 individuals who claim to be great stewards of the land and its wildlife to the point where as some folks besides me have mentioned they arrogantly come across as the highest power on such topics. Again, if you choose to bait and it is legal where you do so, good for you. Just know that what you are doing has no positive benefits to wildlife as a whole. By baiting I mean pouring out large amounts of food on a pile on the ground. If you want to split hairs and say that growing a crop is the same as baiting, you are just trying to justify the use of bait. From a wildlife feeding perspective it is not the same thing, the negative ramifications are not the same. Do I want to shoot big bucks, hell yea. Am I going to go about a practice that time after time has proven to have a negative impact on ALL types of wildlife (whether legal or not) just to potentially make that happen for myself or a customer ...... no. I live in Kansas baiting is legal, at least 2 of my neighbors use bait, do I hate them ... no. Do I wish they would care about our wildlife resources more than shooting a big deer, most definitely. I earned my wildlife biology degree 30 years ago, I have worked with some very knowledgeable people over the years in this field, learning from them every chance I get, I still devote as much time as I can to learning the facts that current scientific studies are showing us.

Well said. Out of curiosity where did you get your degree in wildlife biology?

 

[Turkey Creek]

Well said. Out of curiosity where did you get your degree in wildlife biology?

University of NE- Lincoln

 

[Baker]

University of NE- Lincoln

Thanks, Most of the folks I know are from MSU along with several more active in S. Tx. and Mexico. We probably have some intersecting lines.

 

[BenA]

I take responsibility for starting this post. I was NOT setting out to cause a big ruckus! LOL
I do truly hope that nobody harbors terrible feelings towards someone on this forum who does or doesnt use bait. I have us going down a rabbit hole I never really intended. My true intention was just expressing how F'n annoyed I was with listening to a podcast from 2 individuals who claim to be great stewards of the land and its wildlife to the point where as some folks besides me have mentioned they arrogantly come across as the highest power on such topics. Again, if you choose to bait and it is legal where you do so, good for you. Just know that what you are doing has no positive benefits to wildlife as a whole. By baiting I mean pouring out large amounts of food on a pile on the ground. If you want to split hairs and say that growing a crop is the same as baiting, you are just trying to justify the use of bait. From a wildlife feeding perspective it is not the same thing, the negative ramifications are not the same. Do I want to shoot big bucks, hell yea. Am I going to go about a practice that time after time has proven to have a negative impact on ALL types of wildlife (whether legal or not) just to potentially make that happen for myself or a customer ...... no. I live in Kansas baiting is legal, at least 2 of my neighbors use bait, do I hate them ... no. Do I wish they would care about our wildlife resources more than shooting a big deer, most definitely. I earned my wildlife biology degree 30 years ago, I have worked with some very knowledgeable people over the years in this field, learning from them every chance I get, I still devote as much time as I can to learning the facts that current scientific studies are showing us.

A fruit tree dumps large amounts of food on the ground. If I pick them up from under a tree and move them somewhere else, that's worse? Is that better than running an ATV hopper full of corn down a shooting lane?

 

[Turkish]

I take responsibility for starting this post. I was NOT setting out to cause a big ruckus! LOL
I do truly hope that nobody harbors terrible feelings towards someone on this forum who does or doesnt use bait. I have us going down a rabbit hole I never really intended. My true intention was just expressing how F'n annoyed I was with listening to a podcast from 2 individuals who claim to be great stewards of the land and its wildlife to the point where as some folks besides me have mentioned they arrogantly come across as the highest power on such topics. Again, if you choose to bait and it is legal where you do so, good for you. Just know that what you are doing has no positive benefits to wildlife as a whole. By baiting I mean pouring out large amounts of food on a pile on the ground. If you want to split hairs and say that growing a crop is the same as baiting, you are just trying to justify the use of bait. From a wildlife feeding perspective it is not the same thing, the negative ramifications are not the same. Do I want to shoot big bucks, hell yea. Am I going to go about a practice that time after time has proven to have a negative impact on ALL types of wildlife (whether legal or not) just to potentially make that happen for myself or a customer ...... no. I live in Kansas baiting is legal, at least 2 of my neighbors use bait, do I hate them ... no. Do I wish they would care about our wildlife resources more than shooting a big deer, most definitely. I earned my wildlife biology degree 30 years ago, I have worked with some very knowledgeable people over the years in this field, learning from them every chance I get, I still devote as much time as I can to learning the facts that current scientific studies are showing us.

It feels to me like this is the one topic where consensus advice from wildlife biologists is totally ignored by entire state wildlife commissions. I don’t understand it.

 

[Turkish]

A fruit tree dumps large amounts of food on the ground. If I pick them up from under a tree and move them somewhere else, that's worse? Is that better than running an ATV hopper full of corn down a shooting lane?

Get a couple whiskey drinks in any good ol boy and they’ll admit that triple cleaned corn is magic! Every impartial opinion I’ve heard admits it’s no contest.

 

[Turkey Creek]

It feels to me like this is the one topic where consensus advice from wildlife biologists is totally ignored by entire state wildlife commissions. I don’t understand it.

I will PM you otherwise this thread is going to get completely off track and just invites people to twist what is being said to fit their perceived view and agenda, just like "baiting".

 

[KY wild]

It feels to me like this is the one topic where consensus advice from wildlife biologists is totally ignored by entire state wildlife commissions. I don’t understand it.

I agree but it is ignored for a reason in Ky and that reason is money. Most of the budget comes from selling tags and hunting license and if you outlaw baiting then fewer people will hunt and fewer with by a license.

 

[KY wild]

I take responsibility for starting this post. I was NOT setting out to cause a big ruckus! LOL
I do truly hope that nobody harbors terrible feelings towards someone on this forum who does or doesnt use bait. I have us going down a rabbit hole I never really intended. My true intention was just expressing how F'n annoyed I was with listening to a podcast from 2 individuals who claim to be great stewards of the land and its wildlife to the point where as some folks besides me have mentioned they arrogantly come across as the highest power on such topics. Again, if you choose to bait and it is legal where you do so, good for you. Just know that what you are doing has no positive benefits to wildlife as a whole. By baiting I mean pouring out large amounts of food on a pile on the ground. If you want to split hairs and say that growing a crop is the same as baiting, you are just trying to justify the use of bait. From a wildlife feeding perspective it is not the same thing, the negative ramifications are not the same. Do I want to shoot big bucks, hell yea. Am I going to go about a practice that time after time has proven to have a negative impact on ALL types of wildlife (whether legal or not) just to potentially make that happen for myself or a customer ...... no. I live in Kansas baiting is legal, at least 2 of my neighbors use bait, do I hate them ... no. Do I wish they would care about our wildlife resources more than shooting a big deer, most definitely. I earned my wildlife biology degree 30 years ago, I have worked with some very knowledgeable people over the years in this field, learning from them every chance I get, I still devote as much time as I can to learning the facts that current scientific studies are showing us.

I agree and hate baiting, but I wonder if you could elaborate a bit on some of the ways baiting hurts wildlife. I would like to have the knowledge in my head for future discussions with the master baiters.

 

[Turkey Creek]

I agree but it is ignored for a reason in Ky and that reason is money. Most of the budget comes from selling tags and hunting license and if you outlaw baiting then fewer people will hunt and fewer with by a license.

You already answered a good portion of your question. I will PM you as well.

 

[H20fwler]

I do not mind the baiting in any form be it feeders or plots, soft or hard mast at all.
If someone runs feeders year round or has plots/orchards that hold grain nuts or fruit it helps/promotes all kinds of wildlife.
Sucks that feeding just during hunting season is such a draw, I think feeding year round is a better draw though.

I believe states allow it to help keep deer numbers down and make hunters and vehicle insurance companies happy.

Again, if you don’t like it don’t do it..who cares.

 

[BenA]

Look, I'm one that admits to baiting in the past, and one that is considering doing it in the future. I know the draw of it. I also know the draw of fruit trees, food plots, and acorns. I was a wildlife biology major (dropped out in my senior year to rodeo full time). I understand and keep up with health implications. I know you can responsibly feed or bait while minimizing those risks to mimic what happens in the wild. So, if you are in an area where baiting is pulling in deer and holding them at a rate above the level they would be if no baiting was done, how do you compete with baiting without planting something that mimics baiting? I know what doesn't work is having old fields, tons of edge habitat, 4 acre corn field that is left standing and picked in portions, woods that have been manipulated through FSI, staying out of sanctuaries almost the entire year, etc. Do you just accept the fact that you're not going hold the deer they are, sell and move, fence it in, or bait?