Can I take a bear while baiting deer within 500m of a dwelling?

DTM5

DTM5

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My question is, if I'm deer hunting over (deer) bait, and a bear comes in, can I take it if I have a bear license, even if the hunt location it is closer than 500m to a dwelling? This is a deer hunt with deer bait. I do have an unused tag from my bear hunt in August.

:popCorn:
 
Our issue in ontario is no baiting bear within 500m of a dwelling. You can hunt them, just not bait em. So if one comes to my deer bait, is it legal?
 
DTM5 said:
Our issue in ontario is no baiting bear within 500m of a dwelling. You can hunt them, just not bait em. So if one comes to my deer bait, is it legal?
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As long as you put a sign out stating the bait is only for deer and theives will be shot. That way, if the bear eat it, thats stealing and thus they got what was comin to em.
 
DTM5 said:
Our issue in ontario is no baiting bear within 500m of a dwelling. You can hunt them, just not bait em. So if one comes to my deer bait, is it legal?
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Chances are, your deer bait will simply be viewed as “bait” towards whatever you shoot. Migratory bird, turkey, deer, bear, etc...
So any other applicable requirements will also be applied.
So in reality, it will likely depend entirely on the CO and how the interaction with them plays out.
 
DTM5 said:
Our issue in ontario is no baiting bear within 500m of a dwelling. You can hunt them, just not bait em. So if one comes to my deer bait, is it legal?
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What’s worth more to you?

Extra bear meat in the freezer? Or thousands in legal fees?



By the way, you’ve just created an electronic record that indicates you expect to draw bears to your bait pile. One could argue, that if you’re expecting to attract a certain species, then that/those species are what you’re baiting.
 
kodiakjack said:
I'm trying to clarify what is legal as per the regs. Hundreds, if not thousands of deer hunters have bear come into thier baits every year. With the updated regs there is some confusion. Clarification on this matter would be welcome, and no I'm not afraid of 'electronic records' lol f:P:
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seems pretty simple to me..... if you are hunting over bait intended for deer..... shoot deer. If a bear comes in to your bait , let him walk. bait is still bait regardless of the animal that might be attracted to it.
 
Biff Chillington said:
hunting with baits is cheap.
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I won’t criticize anyone’s legal means of hunting. Bait, food plots, dogs, tree stands, “condo” stands, deer drives... you’ll always find someone who doesn’t like someone else’s methods. But we’ve got enough anti hunters out there, we need to stand together and defend each other’s legal hunt.


That being said, baiting deer will be phased out in the near future if CWD continues its march across the continent. Bait piles have been identified as hot spots for spreading CWD because it encourages tight mingling of the deer and mucus transfer.
 
DTM5 said:
kodiakjack said:
I'm trying to clarify what is legal as per the regs. Hundreds, if not thousands of deer hunters have bear come into thier baits every year. With the updated regs there is some confusion. Clarification on this matter would be welcome, and no I'm not afraid of 'electronic records' lol f:P:
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From the act:

56. (1) A person who places bait for the purpose of bear hunting shall comply with the following requirements:

1. Bait must not be placed within 500 metres of a dwelling, unless written permission is obtained from the owner of the dwelling.

2. Bait must not be placed within 500 metres of a public building.

3. Bait must not be placed within 200 metres of,

i. a right of way for public vehicular traffic, or

ii. a recreational trail that,

A. is established and maintained by an organization for the general public, and

B. is reasonably signposted and marked as a trail. O. Reg. 544/17, s. 6 (1).

(2) In this section,

“bait” means any organic matter that may attract bear;

“public building” means any building that is open to the public or to which the public may be admitted, including both commercial and non-commercial establishments. O. Reg. 544/17, s. 6 (1).
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So, 1. Call the mnrf. He’s the guy with the handcuffs, not us armchair quarterbacks.

2. If I MAY armchair quarterback for a moment - If I’m a fish cop, and I find you hunting over bait with a bear tag in your pocket: You’re bear hunting. If you’ve got tags for both, how am I to know which is your targeted species? Maybe your bear hunting over bait, and you just got a deer tag with you in case a big old buck decides to wander by... I’m not trying to be a #### or anything, I’m just saying that you’ll end up having to prove intent, and there’s not much evidence in your favour to back that up.

And, 3. Why not just get written permission from the owner of the dwelling? Then you’re covered either way. Just explain to them what you’ve explained here. You’re not intending to hunt bear, but want to cross your “T”s and dot your “I”s just in case. In fact, most homeowners would be happier to see you knock a bear down than a deer from my experience.
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Kelly Timoffee said:
Even with a bear tag that you happen to already have? :)
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If you're within 500m of a dwelling then yes. Bait is bait, if you take a bear that came into a bait pile then you just shot a bear over bait regardless of whether they were your primary target. I think you'd have a hard time convincing a CO otherwise.

However, from what kodiakjack just posted, as long as you have written permission from the owner you can be within 500m of the dwelling. OP is it your dwelling you're within 500m of, or do you know them and can you get written permission? That would make this all a non-issue.
 
I can see how a game warden could construe your bate as for bears... But vear vait and deer bate are very different and your intntion here is what is going to determine guikt in court.
 
In BC we are allowed to bait deer and not bear, if I was to bait deer and a bear walked in I would let it walk. It sounds like you have a couple options though from the regs that kodiakjack posted.
 
45ACPKING said:
seems pretty simple to me..... if you are hunting over bait intended for deer..... shoot deer. If a bear comes in to your bait , let him walk. bait is still bait regardless of the animal that might be attracted to it.
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Agreed. The regs do not differentiate between 'bear bait' and 'deer bait'. Bait is bait. I would go so far as say that was intentional as to not create a loophole and to keep it simple.
 
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