Baiting Animals

[drache]

Ok I don't want to turn this into a lot of controversy but I know it will.

I know in BC it's illegal to hunt bear with bait but unsure of baiting other animals. I do know that it's illegal to feed wildlife and yet you can bait them seems a little weird to me.

So I want to understand, why bait animals? Personally part of hunting for me is going out and finding these animals and actually "hunt" them. Seeing the fresh tracks in the mud next to a creek and following them. The thrill of spotting the animal walking through a field and getting yourself close enough for the shot.

I dont mean to sound... like an ass or whatever but what is hunting if you know where the animals will be? I can sort of understand calling them, using scent lures, decoys, etc (it takes practice to do these correctly and even then an animal still might not show) but in terms of things like bears, all you have to do is place food in the same spot and the bears will come back to that location time after time.

But my grandfather never used scents or calls or baits. He hiked out into the mountains and came back with whatever he was hunting without fail.

So I would like to understand if someone could try to explain it on why people bait the animals and just go there to shoot them.

I seem to remember an episode of King of The Hill where Hank takes Bobby out for Bobby's first hunting trip. They are in the blind when the feeder starts up and all these deer walk out of the brush to start eating and they could have their pick of what animal they wanted.

It might be different in places where the only place to hunt is on private land and being able to walk in any direction for days and still be in the wilderness is impossible. But I truly want to understand.

So what is the concept of baiting game?

 

[sunray]

"...bait the animals and just go there to shoot them..." It's not as easy as that. You still have to be in the stand and wait for Yogi to come along during legal hunting hours. It's not legal to bait most other game either.

 

[Northman999]

People bait because the can.

Getting that trophy bear is a lot easier if you can make the bears come to you, rather than having to hunt around all over for them. Other species like wolves are REALLY hard to get at all without baits.

It does sort of seem like cheating to people unused to doing it, but that's just because we were taught it was illegal and therefore wrong. It's like road hunting - in some places it's illegal and therefore people who live in those places come to automatically think of it as wrong -in other places, it's legal and the de-facto standard way of filling the freezer.

 

[Eagle160]

Just about every second hunter in Nova Scotia is using bait for Whitetails. 1000's of pounds of cull carrots and apples are trucked afield every fall and dumped throughout the province. Can't hunt bear in NS without a registered bait site. I have participated, don't anymore as I've gotten back to the enjoyment of still hunting. I have mixed feelings about baiting although must say sitting in a blind with a buck only law in place allowed many enjoyable hours of observing does and fawns interact.

Pro's
-Almost guaranteed success, especially hunters with very limited time to hunt
-Easier for the old timers and people with mobility issues that can't comb the brush to still get out
-Usually a relaxed kill with more time to contemplate shot placement, less chance of lost animal
-Farmers make extra revenue on garbage produce
-Deer are able to secure some extra vittles before winter
-Sitting in a pop up blind with your feet up, warm and dry is pretty good sometimes

Cons
-Not much exercise (Kinda like golf with a power cart)
-Pretty well takes the old skill and stealth out of stalking
-Usually concentrates deer to smaller areas of travel range (don't have to search for food)
-Doesn't necessarily give deer the best food sources (so I'm told)
-Many new or young hunters never get the opportunity tolearn all the methods of the hunt
-Easier for night hunters to break the law by drawing animals to one spot

I could probably continue but I don't think I'd ever pick a side as the best. I'm just hunting on the "old fashioned" side for now.

 

[heavyBullet]

Depends where you hunt also. I hunt where there are many small pieces a land, owned by different people, and intersected by many roads. The piece of land I hunt on is very small, and I usually put out a salt block and once tried a corn feeder(till a bear got at it) to try and convince some deer to stay on the the little piece of land I hunt on.

 

[drache]

Getting that trophy bear is a lot easier if you can make the bears come to you, rather than having to hunt around all over for them. Other species like wolves are REALLY hard to get at all without baits.

Personally I hunt for the meat and for the sport, not to bag the biggest animal, everything else is just icing on the cake.

I'd rather be forced to track the animal down, like they had to do for hundreds of years! Makes it that much more sweeter!

Pro's
-Almost guaranteed success, especially hunters with very limited time to hunt
-Easier for the old timers and people with mobility issues that can't comb the brush to still get out
-Usually a relaxed kill with more time to contemplate shot placement, less chance of lost animal
-Farmers make extra revenue on garbage produce
-Deer are able to secure some extra vittles before winter
-Sitting in a pop up blind with your feet up, warm and dry is pretty good sometimes

Cons
-Not much exercise (Kinda like golf with a power cart)
-Pretty well takes the old skill and stealth out of stalking
-Usually concentrates deer to smaller areas of travel range (don't have to search for food)
-Doesn't necessarily give deer the best food sources (so I'm told)
-Many new or young hunters never get the opportunity tolearn all the methods of the hunt
-Easier for night hunters to break the law by drawing animals to one spot

I could probably continue but I don't think I'd ever pick a side as the best. I'm just hunting on the "old fashioned" side for now.

The Pros for the elderly and people with mobility issues I can understand. But other than that I agree with more of the Con's .

There is a reason it's against the law to feed wild animals, because it makes them dependent on getting food from humans and cause problems.

Im not saying it's wrong, I just don't PERSONALLY see the sport in luring the animals to you. But I'm not going to judge people who do it.

Depends where you hunt also. I hunt where there are many small pieces a land, owned by different people, and intersected by many roads. The piece of land I hunt on is very small, and I usually put out a salt block and once tried a corn feeder(till a bear got at it) to try and convince some deer to stay on the the little piece of land I hunt on.

Thus my comment in the OP that I can sort of understand when people only get to hunt in private land or very small pieces of land.

I guess Im just lucky that I've got more land behind my house than many get to hunt in!

 

[phinton81]

Baiting isn't so much hunting as it is shooting animals that would otherwise be a hell of a lot harder to shoot. I am not a proponent of baiting, but then again, I don't think it should be illegal. If it offers some people with limited hunting access an opportunity to shoot a bear, fine. But if it is just a transactional way of buying the opportunity to shoot a bear, I am not so much for it. I mean, if we can't shoot them at the dump, why can we shoot them over piles of donuts, dead beavers and maple syrup? The only difficulty or hardship associated with hunting at a bait is the patience required. Any fool with a gun can shoot a bear at 30 yards with a face full of donuts. To each their own I guess. Cheers,

Patrick

 

[7.62mm]

Here we go again with the Morals and Ethics. Morals and Ethics, and LEGAL HUNTING have NOTHING to do with one another. If it is legal, go ahead and do it, or not......it is an individual choice.......FULL STOP.


As was eluded to in a previous post, some of us in Canada are not blessed with having 1000's of acres to go and have a hunt on. In my situation, I have a few different properties, and none of them are over 100 acres, and most are 50 acres and less.....pretty hard to have a spot and stalk on these types of properties.......I have done it.......but the conditions have to be perfect, wind etc., as there is not a whole lot of room to maneuver on 15 acres of hardwood forest.

 

[daveg01]

Agreed. Different strokes for different folks. We're all in this together and we need to support each other not divide our limited numbers.

 

[srt4u2nv]

yup Baiting in Ontario for most people is the only way to have a successful season many area's only allow Shotgun hunting and the properties are small. I hunt 120acres and some of the best spots to hunt are bordering other peoples property so spotting and stalking is not an option because I do not have access to the neighboring property. Baiting is the only way I can hunt Bear their den site is on one side of our property and their main food source is on the other they travel through to get food. I use bait to get them to stop and draw them out of cover on their way by no other way to do it.

With Deer its a bit different although an iffy shot could mean the deer dies on some one else's property. Spotting and stalking works to and extent as our WMU is still rifle and I can take a 300yd shot. If I could only use a shot gun like the majority of Southern Ontario then my shot opportunities would be significantly less. I am building a feeder to feed 1/2hr before sun set and 1/2hr after sun rise as I really have to tag out during bow season because I have a little one due right at the beginning of Rifle.

 

[Grizzlypeg]

If you get access to the right field, the crop that used to be there during the season is no different than bait. Sunflower and alfalfa sure seem to attract deer. I know a guy that had a ground blind in a field and he said he was absolutely surrounded by deer, some coming within 30'. But he spent his days there waiting for a trophy, not just any doe.

 

[Wendell]

In Nova Scotia, baiting deer is not illegal.
And baiting bear is (essentially) required.

It's a case of anti-baiting attitudes (like drache's) vs. public safety.

 

[drache]

In Nova Scotia, baiting deer is illegal. (Common, perhaps, but still illegal.)

But baiting bear is (essentially) required.

It's a case of anti-baiting attitudes (like drache's) vs. public safety.

IF you actually read my posts you see that I can understand where baiting may be required especially if you have small properties to hunt on suc has in the Eastern provinces.

But here in BC we have more acreage to hunt on that could ever be required but yet even in BC people still feel the need to bait. And thus why my post was created.

So where in my province would baiting help public safety?

 

[Gatehouse]

In BC, you can bait for all big game other than bears.

Why do it? Why not. It's not as simple as just throwing out some bait and shooting the buck of your dreams...

Most people in BC don't bait, but coyote and wolf hunters will take dead carcasses and set up near them.

It's pretty standard for northern BC outfitters to establish mineral licks by dumping salt in the same place year after year. They do this to draw in the sheep, elk, etc, but it's not like a guaranteed kill, you still have to climb the mountain and there is no guarantee the animals will be there while hunting, either.

It used to be common practice in BC for outfitters to get thier client to shoot a moose as thier first kill, then stake out the carcass for a grizzly. It's still common practice, but it's not really talked about anymore. Hunters desperate for a grizz would pay for a horse to be shot and then used as bait, too.

Why is it illegal to bait bears in BC these days? I don't know, but I assume it was to limit grizzly harvest, and also when it became more common for more peopel set out into the bush (non hunting) it probably could be a safety issue. Plus grizzlies went on LEH draw, and if a hunter was stakign out a bait pile for a black bear, he might end up shooting a grizzly in defense if the grizz claimed it, so they probably wanted to minimize incidental killings of grizz.

H4831 is an "old timer" he might recall when and why BC went to a "no baiting for bear" policy.

I have no interest sitting in a tree-fort tree-stand with deer waiting for the bait machine to release the corn on an electronic timer, but that is how it's done in some places.

Using bait works for some people, doesn't work for others, whatever...Hunt how YOU want to hunt, hunt in a manner that YOU find satisfies you, stop worrying about how the other guy wants to hunt.

 

[Wendell]

IF you actually read my posts you see that I can understand where baiting may be required especially if you have small properties to hunt on suc has in the Eastern provinces.

But here in BC we have more acreage to hunt on that could ever be required but yet even in BC people still feel the need to bait. And thus why my post was created.

So where in my province would baiting help public safety?

Elsewhere, however, some of the powers-that-be have determined that - in strictly limiting the location of the hunt and the mobility of the hunter - requiring hunting from registered bait sites reduce or eliminate any chance of any safety issue.

In Nova Scotia, conservation officers already deal with problem bears. The last thing they need are more problem bears created by impromptu and poorly thought-out bait site locations, so it is for that reason that hunting bear is generally to be from a bait site and that any bait site location must be pre-approved by DNR.

In Germany, for example, some registered sites will specify the exact location of the elevated stand as well as the exact location of the bait. In doing this, the backstop (for any shot) can be assured, and so safety can also be assured, even in built-up areas.

Obviously, I can't comment on matters in B.C.

 

[Dogleg]

Some hunters must feel terrible about killing things, but have rationalized a tiny set of circumstances where it is OK. By "coincidence" the set of circumstances is exactly the way they hunt, which may be exactly the way their grandfather hunted. Everyone else is one step away from being a poacher.

If you don't want to do something, don't do it. If you just don't understand the reason for doing something, try it before proclaiming your moral superiority. No matter what your "morally superior" technique is, you will find another area where it is impractical, impossible, illegal, or frowned upon.

 

[Gatehouse]

Some hunters must feel terrible about killing things, but have rationalized a tiny set of circumstances where it is OK. By "coincidence" the set of circumstances is exactly the way they hunt, which may be exactly the way their grandfather hunted. Everyone else is one step away from being a poacher.

If you don't want to do something, don't do it. If you just don't understand the reason for doing something, try it before proclaiming your moral superiority. No matter what your "morally superior" technique is, you will find another area where it is impractical, impossible, illegal, or frowned upon.

That gets a big ATTABOY!!!

 

[scott_r]

some hunters must feel terrible about killing things, but have rationalized a tiny set of circumstances where it is ok. By "coincidence" the set of circumstances is exactly the way they hunt, which may be exactly the way their grandfather hunted. Everyone else is one step away from being a poacher.

If you don't want to do something, don't do it. If you just don't understand the reason for doing something, try it before proclaiming your moral superiority. No matter what your "morally superior" technique is, you will find another area where it is impractical, impossible, illegal, or frowned upon.

can i get an amen from the choir!!!! Preach it brotd

 

[Wendell]

x3

That was very well said.

Not just for hunting either, for everything.

Last summer I talked hunting with guys who had used dogs to chase down deer. (Apparently this was legal in Arizona.) For as long as I can remember, one of the hottest topics among hunters was roaming dogs - for the same reason. Some guys won't shoot a bird unless it's flying. (That isn't me.) Some people won't shoot it unless they eat it. (That isn't me either.)

 

[Eagle160]

In Nova Scotia, baiting deer is illegal. (Common, perhaps, but still illegal.)

But baiting bear is (essentially) required.

It's a case of anti-baiting attitudes (like drache's) vs. public safety.

I am curious as to where exactly you have obtained your information that BAITING deer is ILLEGAL in Nova Scotia. I have never heard of it, read it or been informed by DNR enforcement to date. This information is not contained within the hunting regulations. As far as I have read the only guidelines pertain to bear hunting.