Deer Baiting Statute 97B.328

[dreamen]

How many of you Deer Hunters are aware of the proposed to the Deer Baiting Statute?

Changes are being proposed for stopping all feeding from Sept 1 – Dec 31.  If this goes thru it is not only affecting hunters but more importantly all people,  even those that do not hunt or allow hunting on their land and just want to feed and watch the animals at home, cabin or?   I have a feeder at home that is not within 50 feet of my house.  I watch the turkeys, ducks, deer, pheasants, raccoons, rabbits. Squirrels, birds, possums and fox are all at this feeder, but it has nothing to do with hunting.   This is another government regulation for homeowners and private land owners giving the DNR more control.

Another proposal is to change deer baiting from a misdemeanor to a gross misdemeanor.  We are talking about animals not violations against persons or property.

Another proposal is to seize deer licenses when ticketed for hunting over bait, when convicted or you pay the fine 1 year from date of conviction for first offense and 2 years for 2nd offence.

The major problem is those that are wrongly ticketed.  The current statute does not clarify what is bait, quality or quantity or what in the vicinity.  The Senate committee that handles these proposed changes is unwilling to make changes to the bait issue or what is in the vacinity.   So a conservation officer can again use their judgment, and I know from personal experience it is not always right.  We were ticketed for hunting over bait in 2008, we did not have feed on the ground, just some husks and shells and we were no where near the supposed bait.  County judge ruled in our favor but it cost me $8K in attorney fees to keep the misdemeanor off our records and get our guns back that were confiscated.  Now with these proposed changes it will affect many adversely that are wrongfully ticketed

Another major point that needs to be addressed is Food Plots.  What is the difference between baiting and planting food plots?  Same thing except is costs a tremendous amount of money to plant food plots and the average person cannot afford to do it.  Baiting is baiting if you are planting fruits and grains you can hunt right there, which right now is legal.  Make if fair
I am not condoning deer baiting, I think it is wrong.  Those that are in violation need to be ticketed.  But the statute is so vague and as I have said leaves it to the discretion of the officer.  Fix it, don’t keep adding additional restrictions and stiffer penalities, make the statue clear, concise and fair to all and educate conservations officers.

Another major concern is when a statue like 97A.205 states:   An enforcement officer is authorized to enter any land to carry out the duties and functions of the division.  That gives them open power to enter anybody’s land without a warrant!  Which was our case with the conservation officers that ticketed us.  The officer stated to us, and we have recorded on an audio they submitted as evidence, “I have been on your property several times”.  The question is why?   I have pictures of the same officer entering my legally posted land 4 days prior to opening of 2009 deer season with his dog?  This is true DNR Conservation Officer Harassment!  The statue also reads:  Nothing in this section grants an enforcement officer any greater powers than other licensed peace officers.  Two contradicting statements.  A county sheriff cannot search my property without a search warranty!  But the DNR can?  They think they can do anything they want when they want to.

The DNR is out of control we as Minnesota Sportsman need to make a stand.  We need to contact our Representatives and Senators and push for major changes to the DNR Statutes, take some of the control away.  But most hunting organizations are afraid of the DNR and unwilling to run articles like this.  The question is Why?  We as Sportsman can make a difference.

[stevejedlenski]

ya lets make it so that we can poach without them knowing! and bait so we can shoot more deer for a $5 bag of corn that dosnt benifit them but for one meal!

sounds like someone got pinched for baiting and is upset they got caught? maybe im off but it sounds like the same story of "i got a ticket and the CO's are bad for catching me" who cares if they go out there if you are following the laws, and in fact someone that is should want them to be on their land! i would love to have a CO keeping the poachers away from my property!

as far as keeping everyone from feeding, you should be for that then during season the deer will be under your stand instead of the old neighbors backyard.

no law is or can ever be black and white.... leaving it to the officer is the only fair way. say 100 yrds is ok then you have people putting fences that make deer walk a certian path to the corn etc etc. this is a way to close the loopholes as there is in any law and give the judgement to a CO instead of politicians that know nothing about the sport.

[Mayfly]

Another major point that needs to be addressed is Food Plots.  What is the difference between baiting and planting food plots?  Same thing except is costs a tremendous amount of money to plant food plots and the average person cannot afford to do it.  

Your spreading a false message here! It is not a tremendous amount of money and YES the average hunter can do it and afford it. So lets get that straightened out.... Go look for yourself. You can find some of the lowest prices on seed out there at http://www.foodplotresources.com/

And as far as your whole point and the proposed Statute. I am really in the middle here. One reason I would love to see this go through is because of all the feeders in the area I hunt. It makes hunting that much harder. It takes deer of natural patterns and gives them good food to go to in any direction. One day they chose this backyard and the next they are in the neighbors yard. Its ridiculous.... and then there are the antis and the weirdos who purposely feed more during hunting seasons just to alter and pull deer to their refuges.

I guess I would have to read more and hear other opinions on this to make a decision on where I stand.