HB 1618

I've heard several arguments so far and what people seem to think is look at Kentucky. But you'd also have go to that states regulations to even make it compatible. Hardly no gun season and 1 buck and out. If that's the case I could see baiting not making a difference at all. I really don't care one way or another honestly. What I would like TWRA to do is focus on the deer herd and wildlife in general. So we all can have a population just under carrying capacity. And a healthy herd of deer.
 
killingtime 41 said:
I've heard several arguments so far and what people seem to think is look at Kentucky. But you'd also have go to that states regulations to even make it compatible. Hardly no gun season and 1 buck and out. If that's the case I could see baiting not making a difference at all. I really don't care one way or another honestly. What I would like TWRA to do is focus on the deer herd and wildlife in general. So we all can have a population just under carrying capacity. And a healthy herd of deer.
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Thanks for your opinion. I truly believe that is the goal of all DNR'S. As you know we have a 2 buck limit and X numbers of doe depending on where your at in Tn. I believe that if they legalize baiting they will keep an eye on numbers to keep the herd healthy an numbers balanced. If we take to many one year the tag count will be adjusted. JMO
 
I have shared my opinion on this topic many times and walked away from it many days ago...but y'all wont stop lol...so I'll add a few more things to consider when trying to decide what is best for wildlife. As managers and stewards of land and wildlife we have to weigh out what we do and consider the return on investment.
So the information below, if memory is correct, comes from the Wisconsin DNR, a state thats been dealing with CWD much longer that we have. But even with that aside, most wildlife biologist will agree on the bullet points below. Not arguing, Just sharing information for people to consider as they decide what to do going forward.

  • Disease transmission: Baiting can cause deer to gather in one place, which can lead to the spread of diseases like Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD).

  • Competition: Baiting can lead to increased competition between deer.

  • Predation: Baiting can make deer more susceptible to predation.

  • Behavior changes: Baiting can alter deer's natural foraging behavior, which can lead to changes in their movement and distribution patterns. For example, deer that are baited may become more active at night.
And then there are the deadly effects of aflatoxin to turkey poults and a variety of song birds and some studys have even shown lower average fawn birth weights from does who have high levels of aflatoxin.

Just information to consider when or if baiting is legalized.
 
Lost Lake said:
If it passes, I hope that each hunter on the baited property would have to wear a minimum of 1,000 inches of Big Bird yellow instead of orange. No landowner exemption on that part.

If it's ever allowed on public, each "hunter" using corn should have to wear a full clown costume, red rubber nose included.

If there are gonna be fistfights over baitpiles, the participants should at least look the part.

I'm very much against the Bill.
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I agree hunting over bait is not fair chase or ethical, I have Game Warden friends an they are it's going to cause problems and spread disease so I am firmly against baiting.
 
Thank you for sharing. I will say that if CWD shows up in NE TN I promise as a Stewart of my property and as a outdoorsman I will STOP my feeding program period. I take my feeding program seriously and monitor it closely. I would never endanger our herd. This is to important to me and my family.
 
It is already so widely used, it isnt gonna make a hill of beans either way! There is bait piles on every other property across this state if you want to believe it or not. The disease argument is moot at this point, it hasnt been enforced in several years now. The cat is already out of the bag. I care not either way, its not gonna affect the way i hunt
 
I do see the cons of baiting and I get the pros of why others are for it too. But the biggest factor I see people talking about is disease spread. If that's the biggest concern then we need to stop with mineral sites, water holes and food plots since those can be high concentrated areas also. I know that they do some things different in CWD units, or use to, but if we wait until we have CWD in our part of the state before we take any measures then its already to late. I do agree with others that we do need to be good stewards regardless of which way it goes and their needs to be a lot of guard rails in place like with the specific corns and things like that.

Can anyone from a CWD unit chime in to tell how the extra measures have affected the spread there?
 
OakHillHunter said:
I do see the cons of baiting and I get the pros of why others are for it too. But the biggest factor I see people talking about is disease spread. If that's the biggest concern then we need to stop with mineral sites, water holes and food plots since those can be high concentrated areas also. I know that they do some things different in CWD units, or use to, but if we wait until we have CWD in our part of the state before we take any measures then its already to late. I do agree with others that we do need to be good stewards regardless of which way it goes and their needs to be a lot of guard rails in place like with the specific corns and things like that.

Can anyone from a CWD unit chime in to tell how the extra measures have affected the spread there?
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Very well said. Any where deer concentrate there is a high chance of spreading. There needs to be a more aggressive research on CWD and how to cure it.
 

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