Wisconsin No-Bait Countys

[wischunter08]

What's your take on a no baiting law in some countys.  I dont know if Minnesota does anything like this, but here in Wisconsin if a deer is found to have CWD all surrounding counties are put on the no-bait list.

I understand what the DNR is trying to do, and I respect that.  But there is no way they are going to even come close to containing the disease.  I mean its not something new that has just been introduced to our deer population.  Its always been here, and we just didnt know it. 

Now with this no baiting law they are trying to stop the spread of CWD off of bait piles.  Now think about it, you take out the bait piles of the hunters who use them in the county. The deer are still going to eat off of the same food plots, the same apple tree, and acorn trees and so on.

I just think its kind of a law that is solving nothing at all.

Your thoughts?

[jamieheiden]

MN there is no Baiting in any Counties

[HUNTER2]

Maybe they should hand out deer tags and have extra seasons like they have done in MN, then you won't have as many deer just like MN.

[Go Big Red!]

As a long time Wisconsin deer hunter, Iron County/Hurley area to be exact, the CWD situation has given me mixed emotions.  Just my thoughts.

1.  The disease has been prevalent for years and it seems to spread at a high rate.  Why?  I think it's the inability for the WiDNR to control the deer herd in those areas.  Think about. They want to kill off the infected herd, but many people don't want to hunt/harvest a sick deer.  Waste of a persons time.  Personally, I would go down there and hunt to help out, but as a MN resident, I still need to pay non-resident rates.  Next step, bring in sharpshooters at our expense and thin the herd. 

2.  Baiting is suspended in those counties because baiting brings deer together which spreads disease. DUH DNR!  As wishunter08 points out, they feed off mast, apples trees, bird feeders in peoples yards, etc.  Still, no way to control the contact from healthy and sick deer.  Do we then practice a scorched-earth program and burn everything down? 

3.  The disease is there, it's going to be there, and it's probably just nature's way of her controlling the herd numbers.  So what do we do now?

Baiting is supplementing a food source.  Is it the right thing to do?  I don't know.  Obviously from the "baiting dilemma" post, people will have mixed emotions and are very protective of the baiting vs. non-baiting ideals. 

I don't know what to say on baiting and the correlation of the spread of CWD.  Are there studies on it? Hunter surveys?  I do though think it is a law that isn't solving anything.

[22lex]

What's your take on a no baiting law in some countys.  I dont know if Minnesota does anything like this, but here in Wisconsin if a deer is found to have CWD all surrounding counties are put on the no-bait list.

I understand what the DNR is trying to do, and I respect that.  But there is no way they are going to even come close to containing the disease.  I mean its not something new that has just been introduced to our deer population.  Its always been here, and we just didnt know it. 

Now with this no baiting law they are trying to stop the spread of CWD off of bait piles.  Now think about it, you take out the bait piles of the hunters who use them in the county. The deer are still going to eat off of the same food plots, the same apple tree, and acorn trees and so on.

I just think its kind of a law that is solving nothing at all.

Your thoughts?

Sure doesn't sounds like it works.

I can see why they would want to prevent the spread of the disease by hopefully limiting their "herding up to the feeders", but you can't prevent them from herding up like they do in the dead of the winter. I have seen herds of deer in Houston, and Olmstead counties in Jan. and Feb. that are close to 80-120 deer all in one concentrated area.

[DroptineDC18]

They do have extra seasons and extra doe permits available for $2 in WI.  You can buy as many as you want.  There are two 4-day antlerless hunts; one in October and one in December.   Plus the earn-a-buck throughout most of the state. They are trying everything to kill every deer in WI, which is funny because hunters are seeing less and less.  I guess that's what you get when the people in charge in Madison have never hunted in their lives.  Makes a lot of sense.

As to the original post, they will never be able to control the disease by banning baiting.  It has been around for a long time: here and out west.  I agree with most that CWD is a natural course that helps keep the deer numbers down. 

[Go Big Red!]

Extra anterless tags are $2 each, but only after you pay non-resident prices.  I could care less how much it costs, I'm still hunting.

[stevejedlenski]

from what i know, there is no answer to how the disease is transmitted. however they do believe it to be through direct contact. feeding keeps deer coming to one spot over and over again. often they are fed out of feeders or trough. in this way deer will be touching contaminated feed or feeders directly. even if you scatter the feed, there will be many deer using the area and they will continue as long as there is food therefore increasing risk of transfer.

as far as the argument they will feed on masts and apple trees... think about how spread out that is and how often they visit specific trees. do you think that there are 10 deer that regularly eat every night at the same tree? if so it would be easy to hunt for deer would it not... the reason people bait is to increase thier odds am i correct? then its obvious that feeding sites would increase risk of deer transmiting the disease.
i honestly dont care what wisc does but if it means stoping or at least slowing the spread to mn than im all for it. i would say to the people that do bait deer, spread your feed out maybe in 7 or 8 areas and see how many deer still come to your stand.