Wisconsin DNR Wants To Ban Baiting Deer Statewide
by Tom Remington
The Wisconsin DNR already prohibits baiting deer in 26 counties and now they want to do it throughout the entire state. The reason? To stop the spread of chronic wasting disease, they say.
In 2003 lawmakers made provisions for hunters and landowners to use “small” amounts of bait to lure deer. Baiting always draws in the question of ethics but the science of chronic wasting disease is another issue. While the jury is still pretty much out on exactly how the disease is spread, many feel that when large numbers of deer feed in confined places, eating from the same food source, bin or pile, the odds of spreading the disease increase.
Even though it is still not certain, I think putting a ban on baiting for that purpose is a reasonable request until better science can confirm one way or another, when you consider the results of widespread CWD.
Tom Remington
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