Deer Baiting in Wisconsin

Nick Gaede
4/14/2011
Deer baiting is one of those subjects that will draw plenty of opinions in Wisconsin, especially
if you are having a cold one at the local tavern and mention baiting. There are many good arguments whether to bait or not. Many proponents of baiting say it is necessary for youth just starting to hunt to have deer come in close for a safe shot. On the other side of the argument are those that say we would have more natural deer movement if we would ban baiting statewide. In my opinion, I think we would be better off with a statewide ban. Don't get me wrong, I have shot a few deer off a bait pile, including two during Wisconsin's late archery season last year. It may be easier to draw deer in, especially during the late season, but I find it to be a more rewarding experience to harvest an animal when it is moving naturally along a runway in the woods. Just looking at the regulations on baiting can make anyone's head hurt, there are five pages specific to baiting requirements in the Wisconsin deer hunting regulations pamphlet. I think it would just be easier to eliminate this aspect from our hunting lifestyle. Before the two gallon bait limit private landowners were dumping out truckloads of corn and potatoes to draw deer onto their property - talk about an unfair advantage to someone who primarily hunts public land! Many of the deer on public lands were drawn onto private lands making it tough to harvest an animal. This may not be occurring as much now with the two gallon limit, but I guarantee some are still putting out large amounts of bait. I remember when we had a statewide ban on baiting for one season, when CWD was first discovered in the state, and many hunters I talked to said they seen more antlered animals that year than in previous years. There are many other states that have a statewide ban on baiting and I don't hear too many hunters complaining about not seeing any deer in those states. Chronic Wasting Disease is also a big concern in the state with it already being prevalent in much of the southern half of the state. Banning baiting may not eliminate its spread into the north woods but I think it would be a step in the right direction. I recently read Greg Miller's book Bowhunting Forests and Deep Woods, Greg by the way, is a very well renowned bowhunter from Wisconsin who had some interesting things to say about baiting that I would like to share with you. "The sudden appearance of corn piles throughout the forest changed the habits and travel patterns of its deer. Equally bad, baiting made many Wisconsin deer hunters become lazy, both physically and mentally, disconnecting them from the forest itself. A disconnected deer hunter can never become a skilled, astute observer of whitetail deer behavior. I hate to say it, but the arts of scouting and interpreting deer sign are disappearing in my home state." Greg goes on the say that "In fact, baiting became so widespread that I eventually sold my share of my hunting cabin in northwestern Wisconsin." I thinks these are pretty bold statements made by a renowned bowhunter from our state and I have to say I am in agreement with many of Mr. Miller's thoughts on baiting. Hopefully hunters in our state will become to realize the benefits of not baiting so we can all have a great hunting experience.