New Law For Region 4 EK..

[gunpower]

I don't care whether or not it passes on illness; I never have liked the concept of baiting animals. Now, there are mineral licks and it has long been common practice, especially by outfitters, to "enhance" these licks. It has also become common practice to set out salt blocks and use game cameras to see if they want to waste the energy climbing up to look for a ram or bull. I think there are some grey areas but I am all for stopping the deliberate baiting of ungulates. I am also just fine with the concept of baiting predators. I think trail cams should be out of the woods one week prior to opening day. GD

In 50 years of hunting, I have never use any bait or baiting methods for ungulates , and never will. It , in my eyes is unethical , just about as bad as pit lamping !!

[Jagermeister]

I call bs... no scientific evidence that salt blocks can contribute to the alleged spread of cwd...

Another knee jerk reaction..

I would not be so quick to say that. It would not surprise if it is revealed that CWD can be transmitted through saliva.

I would be more concerned about the proposal to eliminate the cow elk LEH. This LEH amounts to the possible harvest of 32 cow elk out of an estimated population of 6970 elk according to a 2018 East Kootenay Trench survey. These 32 antlerless elk account for less than 0.5% of the entire herd population. Do you think that dropping this hunt will make a significant impact on the recovery of the dwindling elk populations? I don't think so. It will take drastic measures to curtail the decline and those drastic measures will need to be: 1. Re-instating the grizzly hunt; 2. serious attempt to cull wolves and 3. drastic reduction in the length of the hunting season. I am not in favor of the latter because once the herd recovers, the season will stay shortened so the numbers 1 and 2 are the only viable options.
The East Kootenay Trench probably has the highest grizzly bear population density on the North American continent.

[sthdslayer]

BOONE AND CROCKETT CLUB POSITION STATEMENT

BAITINGEffective Date: August 1, 2019
Situational Overview
Baiting is a broad term that generally refers to the use of natural or unnatural food attractants placed in a specific location by hunters to attract and draw in a targeted game species for harvest. Though considered a longstanding and traditional hunting method in many states and provinces, baiting has become increasingly misunderstood and controversial.Â
Hunting (regardless of the method used) is the primary mechanism by which state, provincial, and tribal wildlife agencies manage the populations of game species. Game species are hunted across a broad spectrum of terrain and conditions, including open areas where game is more easily located, deep forests where animals are hard to find, lands densely populated by people, and remote, uninhabited areas where game roams over vast distances. These conditions all require different hunting methods and skills in order for sportsmen to be successful. To determine what methods should be legal in their jurisdiction, wildlife agencies consider a variety of factors, including terrain, conditions, hunting traditions, hunting opportunity and species behavior, balanced against science-based objectives for game population management.
Game management objectives primarily focus on maintaining healthy, sustainable, and socially acceptable populations. In situations where hunter harvest may be low and wildlife populations are higher than what the land can sustain, managers may need to reduce animal numbers, and baiting is one option they may allow hunters to employ. Reductions are also sometimes necessary to mitigate the spread of disease within a wildlife population, or when game animals damage property, create safety concerns for people, or negatively impact other wildlife.

One of the objections to baiting is that it can habituate animals to an unnatural food source, creating more conflicts with people. Feeding wildlife in general can also concentrate normally free-ranging animals, leading to the spread of disease (such as CWD in whitetail deer). Claims that game laws are somehow arbitrary arise when one state allows baiting for a particular species while a neighboring state prohibits this hunting method for the same species.  Â
The most frequent criticism is that baiting violates the principles of Fair Chase®, the code of hunting conduct popularized by the Boone and Crockett Club over a century ago. This argument has led many people to conclude that baiting should be illegal regardless of the circumstances. The Club believes baiting, especially as it relates to wildlife management and Fair Chase, should be better understood before it can be properly judged.
Position
The Boone and Crockett Club acknowledges that baiting is a proven method to manage the population density of certain species in certain areas and supports the authority of wildlife agencies to determine if baiting is allowed in their jurisdictions. The many decades of decision-making by state, provincial, and wildlife authorities, based on regional needs and local traditions, have led to the most successful system of wildlife management in the world.
Baiting can increase hunter success by helping them to locate game, especially nocturnal species and game that inhabits a continuous, dense understory that make successful harvest numbers difficult to achieve. Baiting also allows a hunter to be more selective as it permits them to conduct a closer inspection of an animal to determine its age and sex prior harvest. This is particularly important where it is discouraged or illegal to take young animals or females with young of a species (such as black and grizzly bear) where the sex and age is not as easily discernable as with other species.
Once the decision has been made that baiting is legal, whether to use bait or not is a matter of personal choice. The Club defines Fair Chase as “the ethical, sportsmanlike, and lawful pursuit and taking of any free-ranging wild, big game animal in a manner that does not give the hunter an improper or unfair advantage over the game animals.” This definition is based on the meaning of “fair” that relates to legitimate, genuine, or appropriate given the circumstances. Where an increased harvest of a particular species needs to occur, or where positive identification of size or sex is a legal requirement, baiting is “appropriate given the circumstances” and does not violate Fair Chase principles.

Since Fair Chase is more a matter of the “spirit of the hunt” than a set of written rules, views on baiting will vary from one person to the next. Fair Chase can also be influenced by local customs and traditions. How a person was taught to hunt can affect their sense of what is an ethical hunting method. For some, baiting meets these requirements and presents a unique set of challenges. Others may find it does not align with their personal value system and will not provide the experience they seek. If a person decides baiting is not for them, the Club believes they should still respect another’s right to legally hunt that way.

Outside of what hunting laws provide concerning the various species of game being hunted and managed, there is no simple answer to the question about baiting being right or wrong. It is the Club’s policy that big game trophies taken with the aid of bait are eligible for entry and listing in the Boone and Crockett Club’s Records of North American Big Game program so long as the practice is legal in the state or province where the trophy was taken, and other entry requirements are met.

The Club has also found that hunting over or near agricultural fields does not constitute baiting. Crops that provide food for people, livestock, or to produce other goods, tend to have an ancillary effect of providing food and cover for wildlife. Hunters may be able to find game more easily in those locations, but this is not considered to be a violation of Fair Chase. If a person plants crops specifically to attract a certain game species (often referred to as food plots) for hunting purposes, the Club maintains it is up to each wildlife agency to determine if such actions are legal, or considered baiting. Â

The Boone and Crockett Club publishes position statements to inform and educate people about conservation and hunting issues. Thus, there is no charge for personal and non-commercial use of its position statements, but reprinting or re-use of any portions of a position statement shall credit the Boone and Crockett Club as the source. Any such use shall remain subject to all rights of the Boone and Crockett Club

[russm86]

I call bs... no scientific evidence that salt blocks can contribute to the alleged spread of cwd...

Another knee jerk reaction..

What else do you expect?

What are they going to blame/ban when they put this through and CWD still makes it's way through the province anyways?

[hunter1947]

What else do you expect?

What are they going to blame/ban when they put this through and CWD still makes it's way through the province anyways?

You got this correct my guess is next they will implement every animal that a hunter takes mandatory inspection..

[hunter1947]

I would not be so quick to say that. It would not surprise if it is revealed that CWD can be transmitted through saliva.

I would be more concerned about the proposal to eliminate the cow elk LEH. This LEH amounts to the possible harvest of 32 cow elk out of an estimated population of 6970 elk according to a 2018 East Kootenay Trench survey. These 32 antlerless elk account for less than 0.5% of the entire herd population. Do you think that dropping this hunt will make a significant impact on the recovery of the dwindling elk populations? I don't think so. It will take drastic measures to curtail the decline and those drastic measures will need to be: 1. Re-instating the grizzly hunt; 2. serious attempt to cull wolves and 3. drastic reduction in the length of the hunting season. I am not in favor of the latter because once the herd recovers, the season will stay shortened so the numbers 1 and 2 are the only viable options.
The East Kootenay Trench probably has the highest grizzly bear population density on the North American continent.

Well we will see what does happen in the years to come if this new proposal is implemented no baiting with salt etc..

I know that science has not come out and said that if saliva is transmitted to others if a deer or other lick the salt block,,my thoughts is why don't they cull a deer that
has CWD put it in a pended area and cull a deer that does not have CWD..

Over the months or a year find out if the deer with no CWD gets this disease that the two deer are licking off the salt block have a camera to know that both deer are
licking the salt block over this period of time then science has did this job to me that's proof..

If science test does prove that this test with the culled deer in the pended area gives DWD to the other then I would think that the ban in the entire BC no salt baiting etc .

This law would have to be in force with cattlemen as well and farmers etc..

My thoughts is management does not have the funding to make science work a real shame ,,science only works if money is not an issue..

[wideopenthrottle]

Great post WB. Its crazy to see how CWD rates have sky-rocketed in a lot of areas in Alberta. Makes it a real ethical struggle on what to do when trying to plan a hunt over there.

I'm personally alright with the ban on baiting/feeding and am happy that whitetail doe numbers have been reduced in the Kootenays. Somehow if I said that in a public area in the Kootenays I feel I'd be strung up for not 'falling in line' with the common thinking.

cuts to the quick on what "healthy herd" numbers really are....we as hunters sometimes forget a healthy herd is not the same as huge numbers of animals

[hunter1947]

cuts to the quick on what "healthy herd" numbers really are....we as hunters sometimes forget a healthy herd is not the same as huge numbers of animals

Yes CWD sky-rocketed and Alberta no baiting for deer elk the law there what goes there ???.

[Rackmastr]

Yes CWD sky-rocketed and Alberta no baiting for deer elk the law there what goes there ???.

Higher population densities in the areas that it spread is a good start. Its not hard to see the past and vast herd reductions along the AB/SK border in an attempt to stop the spread and then an increase of transmission as densities were allowed to grow.

Wayne there is a TON of good info on CWD, transmission, etc on various podcasts and some good lengthy articles. Sit down and listen to a podcast or two and you'll gain an appreciation for it and the research that is going on. MeatEater podcast likely has the best one (Episode 70). Joe Rogan Episode 1154 is another with Bryan Richards and Doug Duren.

[Stone Sheep Steve]

Here’s my take on salt blocks( take it with a grain of salt...if you will).

All ungulates will naturally seek out salt. Naturally occurring licks away from people attract ungulates from quite a large area. Find a natural lick and there will can be serious game trails coming in from all directions. Having more salt options spread out actually reduces concentrations of game.
Just a theory but it makes sense to me.

SSS