Deer baiting Tennessee Wildlife Resources Commission
July 17th, 2006 by Administrator
The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Commission will meet in Nashville Wednesday and Thursday, and a hot issue is on the agenda.
Baiting for deer is allowed in several surrounding states, including Kentucky, and some hunters have pushed for baiting to be allowed in Tennessee. Apparently some TWRC members agree with these hunters, and they have asked the Wildlife Division of the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency to study the issue and give a report of their findings at the commission meeting
The TWRA report will include a review of deer hunting over bait in other states and the biological and social impacts of baiting and artificial feeding of white-tail deer.
TWRA Chief of Wildlife Greg Wathen told outdoor writers at a recent conference of the Tennessee Outdoor Writers Association that he does not support the legalization of baiting in Tennessee, but he would abide by any decision made by the wildlife commission.
Wathen expressed concern about the impacts that baiting might have on the transmission of diseases within the state’s deer population and the potential impact it might have on wildlife behavior.
The purpose of baiting during the hunting season is to change an animal’s behavior so that it will return to the feeding site each day. The feeding site is usually placed in an area advantageous to hunters, giving them a better chance of harvesting an animal.
Animals become accustomed to the baiting site and they may gather in large numbers to feed on the bait. When large numbers of wild animals get together, it increases the chances of spreading disease, and that is of great concern to wildlife managers.
There is also an ethical issue surrounding baiting. About half of the states in the Southeast and Midwest permit baiting for deer, but not all of the hunters in these states use bait. These hunters feel that the use of bait gives a hunter an unfair advantage and it detracts from the spirit of the sport.
Other hunters disagree, saying that baiting helps them to harvest an animal and it aids in managing wildlife populations.
Regardless of how you feel about baiting, the issue keeps popping up before the TWRC, and sooner or later it will come to a vote. Although the TWRA may recommend against baiting, the commission members are political appointees and they do not always decide with the agency.
If you have an opinion about baiting, you should contact your commissioner and let him or her know how you feel. Commissioners for Clarksville and the surrounding areas are:
Boyce C. Magli (Cheatham, Dickson, Giles, Hickman, Houston, Humphreys, Lawrence, Lewis, Maury, Montgomery, Stewart, Wayne, and Williamson Counties). P. O. Box 448, Franklin, TN 37065; business phone: (615) 794-5484, fax: (615) 794-5515, e-mail: boyce@magli.com.
Jeanette Rudy (Bedford, Cannon, Coffee, Davidson, Franklin, Lincoln, Marshall, Moore, Robertson, Rutherford, Sumner, and Wilson Counties). 2730 Pennington Bend Road, Nashville, TN 37214, (615) 391-5895.Other items on the commission agenda include:
A report from Ducks Unlimited on cooperative programs in Tennessee and Canada.
A report from the TWRA on the loss of public hunting lands over the past five years and the current status of public hunting lands.
A report from the TWRA on the agency’s contract for the Tennessee’s Wildside television show, along with a recommendation for future TWRA television activities.TWRC committee meetings will begin at 1 p.m. Wednesday at the TWRA Region II Office Building in the Ellington Agricultural Center. The commission meeting will begin at 9 a.m. Thursday.
The public is invited to attend the meetings and present comments on any issue.
Owen Schroeder