Posted by MikeAdams on September 22, 2008
Everyone is starting to speak out on the Michigan CWD baiting ban here in the lower peninsula. This week rock star Ted Nugent spoke out against the baiting ban. In the Battle Creek Enquirer he gave his view on the recent ban.”I am opposed to the ban because there’s no scientific evidence to support it. There is no link between feeding deer and CWD - unless the feed contains animal parts from an infected animal. Bureaucrats are spitting in the face of the very ideals they swore to uphold: that they would make decisions based on sound scientific evidence.”
Right now there is a push by the Tourism, Outdoor Recreation, and Natural Resources Committee to try to lift the ban until the first of the year. Committee Trustee Joel Sheltrown (D-West Branch) wants to collect more data and let the farmers recover some of their economic losses. Right now there are estimates that the baiting ban could result in an economic loss of over $50 million to the state.
Right now it seems as if the legislature wants to protect the farmers in the immediate future with no consideration for the long term. Their interests are on the side of money not the side of the health of the deer. As for Uncle Ted, he always has an opinion on hunting and the government. I’m not so sure I agree with him this time. I want the DNR to make the right decision and right now they are erring on the side of caution by implementing the baiting ban. Sheltrown, Mayes, and James Barcia (D-Bay City) are sponsoring resolutions in the Michigan House and Senate to urge DNR Director Rebecca Humphries to lift the ban until the first of the year. The resolution also urges the NRC to hold another hearing to discuss the future of baiting here in Michigan. Their next regular meeting is on October Ninth at 3pm at the Lansing Center in Lansing, Michigan. We will have to wait and see what will come of this. Stay Tuned!
This entry was posted on Monday, September 22nd, 2008 at 11:36 pm and is filed under CWD and Wildlife Diseases, Hunting, Uncategorized, archery.
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I do like Ted Nugent but I don’t always agree with him and this is one of those times. It just seems to me that everyone is looking at the economic impact right now instead of looking at the big picture and what the economic impact would be if CWD gets into the wild deer herd. Not to menetion what deer hunting would be like. I for one don’t want the DNR to manage our game based on economics and politics but want it managed based on science. Unforunately my gut feeling is that the Natural Resources Committee is going to cave in but I hope not. I guess only time will tell.
September 23rd, 2008 at 9:49 am
I usually agree with Uncle Ted, but I don’t agree this time. I think scientific evidence is being used in order to institute the ban. And I think that most people are not looking at the big picture. They are only looking at the economic impact right now, not the impact that economic impact that could happen if CWD was widespread and obliterated the deer herd.
I like that the DNR is siding with caution, and I hope politics don’t get in the way of making a good decision.
September 23rd, 2008 at 11:20 am
Come on guys. If the bait ban was done fairly, baiting would have been done in the UP too, but it wasn’t. The deer can walk in from Wisconsin or walk across the straits when they freeze. You can still use a food plot which doesn’t make sense to me. I live in the Midland area and see herds of deer now feeding in the farm fields every night nose to nose. What’s next banning farms?
It was in the paper down here the other day, that the DNR fined a guy because he didn’t pick up fallen apples from a tree in his yard. The DNR is just looking for new ways to hand out fines……………………
September 23rd, 2008 at 10:57 pm
I agree with Chuck. I know where there is several fields where deer are also eating nose to nose. I have used a feeder for years and have never seen more than 5 at the feeder at a time. They don’t crowd together. I also use a scout camera and even at night it is the same way… not crowded.
If they do find a scientific link to baiting and CWD then absolutely everyone should stop feeding them.
As a property owner, the feeder outside my cabin feeds an abundance of wildlife thru the winter months… and no one should have the right to say I can’t have a feeder on my property without knowing for sure.
Maybe it had something to do with being a captive animal? Where did all the animals come from that were at the place where this infected deer was found?
If you used a feeder or obey the 2 gallon feed law; how many deer could possibly come to two gallons of bait? They just need to enforce the limit law, until more research is done.
October 2nd, 2008 at 9:17 pm