The issue of baiting for hunting is contentious…on a good day. For most with a stake in baiting as a hunter, outfitter, scientist, wildlife manager there is no gray area. It’s kind of like the Dallas Cowboys or NY Yankees, you either love or hate, with few in between.

In Michigan there’s a debate warming from simmer to boil since chronic wasting disease  (CWD) was found last year. The response was to eliminate the legality of baiting as part of the effort to combat the possible implications baiting has with respect to deer and disease.

WEARE TWP. — Gerald Malburg still has a sign out in front of his farm that reads “Deer Feed.”Feeding and baiting deer in Michigan’s Lower Peninsula became illegal overnight in 2008 when a deer suspected of having chronic wasting disease (CWD) was discovered on a Kent County Farm. Malburg and two other farmers sued the DNR over the baiting ban to no avail.More than $30,000 in legal fees and a year later, Malburg hasn’t completely given up, but he’s acknowledging that defeat will last five years at the very least.

I really struggle to justify exceptions to sound wildlife management simply for the sake of one persons economic issues. Do I feel for the man? Indeed, in fact I’d have no problem with intelligently crafted fiscal consideration if possible. But the healthy of an entire deer herd should weight more heavily. Don’t get me wrong I’m not arguing the citizens questioning the process this went through, not at all. If it’s a procedural issue, I’ll understand the need for the proper function of government. But I’m also not naive to think states haven’t put contingency plans into place for situations just like this. I’d bet if you looked into any states protocol after a disease such as CWD or TB occur several automatic responses such as banning baiting and feeding are triggered. The day’s of knee-jerk, uninformed responses are history and most states contingency plans are based on a scientific foundational reaction successful in other states such as Wisconsin from a couple years ago.

To be fair, critics will pull out specific arguments and bring counter points into the debate, which I understand and welcome. But taken individually does not give the due level of concern from the entire issues impacted with bating, here’s my quick take on the concerns associated with baiting. These issues combined are why science, biology and wildlife management officials take notice when disease and baiting mix.

Access 
Bait sites alter natural deer movements and generally congregate deer on a few select properties, which reduces public hunting opportunity. Many deer attracted to one location generally results in loss of deer hunting opportunity. This artificial food source can “pull” deer out of natural habitats on both public and private land from miles away. 

Deer Managment
It’s understood deer yard up in the winter, but hunters begin baiting in late summer and continue throughout the year. Deer attracted to baits become habituated to artificail food sources and seek out easy food such as agricultural commodities when hunters quit baiting their sites. Deer congregated in large groups on private lands with little access creates the potential for lack of adequate harvest. 

Disease
Wildlife diseases such as bovine TB and chronic wasting disease have a greater chance of spreading when animals are congregated. Diseases are transmitted between animals by nose-to-nose contact and ingesting saliva and feces from infected animals. The frequency of these activities is greatly increased at a hunters bait site. Tuberculosis is currently being battled in northwestern Minnesota at a cost of millions as well as the loss of significant portion of the local deer population. 

Social
Fair chase is the ethical, sportsmanlike and lawful pursuit and taking of free ranging wild game animals in a manner that does not give the hunter an improper or unfair advantage. Does hunting over bait create an unfair advantage? That’s an opinion we all must make. 

As I close I must reiterate my level of understanding the economic impacts of such an order, but I also want these same stake holders to ponder the health of the entire deer herd. What if cwd spreads throughout the deer herd and not only are deer populations impacted but the domino effect of fewer deer and hunters along consumption and the entire foundation could crumble. Which is why it’s better to be safe than sorry. It really is, for now and the future.

Ludington Daily News Michigan on baiting impacts