Banning wildlife baiting could reduce the spread of disease and make hunting more ethical and sustainable, says Ken McDaid of the Saskat-chewan Fair Chase League.
The league is calling on Saskat-chewan legislators to follow the lead of governments in Manitoba, Alberta, Wyoming and Colorado and ban the practice.
Last month, the U.S. House of Representatives introduced a “Don’t Feed the Bears Act” banning baiting on federal land.
“To be sustainable and acceptable to the public, it needs to go,” said McDaid about the practice of luring wild animals to centralized feeding stations.
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“It bothers me and I’m a hunter.”
Dave Brewster, manager of resource allocation with Saskatchewan Environment, called baiting “an historical practice” and hunting technique.
Brewster, who said the department bases its policies on both science and public opinion, said the issue will be revisited as new data arises.
“We’re trying to achieve a balance between the needs of the outfitters and the risk of disease transmission around animals congregating.”
The province does ban deer feeding and baiting from January to July.
Terry Kreeger of the Wyoming game and fish department said baiting cervids is not allowed in his state.
“It’s not a fair way to hunt animals,” he said.
Kreeger cited the incidence of bovine brucellosis at rates of 20 to 50 percent in elk at federal feeding stations in the state, compared to two to three percent among those roaming in the wild.
“It’s a good set of data that demonstrates that gathering animals at one site probably increases the transmission of disease.”
McDaid said outfitters in provinces such as British Columbia make a good living without baiting. He would like to see hunters in the bush with professional guides capable of tracking the highly valued trophy animals.
“If you had a guide for every hunter, there’d be a lot of employment,” he said.
