Is this Bear baiting?

[Jamieb]

So, along the same topic....if you kill an animal (elk, deer, etc) and watch the gut pile, bear comes to eat it and you take the bear, is that baiting? A bit hazy on this topic....

Yes it's baiting.

[Kain]

Only animals in the regs that specifically say you cannot bait them are bears and game birds.  All other animals can be baited. 

Definition of baiting.

Dear Mr. Kain,

Thank you for contacting the Wildlife Program with your question on bait.  As defined in RCW 77.15.245 bait is defined as “a substance placed, exposed, deposited, distributed, scattered, or otherwise used for the purpose of attracting black bears to an area where one or more persons hunt or intend to hunt them.”
 
This includes scents, and other popular attractants sold by sporting goods stores.
 
If you have any further questions, comments, or concerns please feel free to contact the Wildlife Program at (360) 902-2515.
 
Sincerely,
 
Mike Day
Customer Service Specialist
Wildlife Program
 

[DeerThug]

Ok so my son Matthew is at bear camp and had a bear come and get in his food boxes and cooler. They were secured - the food box was in the back of his truck.    He said that when he came back he was 6 feet from the bear - did not see it but saw the bush moving and heard it run off.  He did not get a shot at the bear... but is this baiting>>>  He slept with his rifle in the tent last night.  No bear sightings today...  Maybe tomorrow.  It is supposed to cool off so maybe it will happen.  He is a few days into a 10 day hunt>>>

[Kain]

Iffy on that.  It says exposed for the purpose of attracting where you intend to hunt.  They would have to prove that you purposely exposed the food for attracting bears and intended to hunt them.  Sounds like a good job for a lawyer.  You would think that they would want you to kill a bear that had associated camps with food but I dont think I would risk it.

[twinners]

Doesn't everyone cook breakfast in their treestands? 

[Jeremy S]

Yes.

[let.it.fly]

i wonder if you were picking black berrys and you filled a bucket. then on the way out you acceidently spill the bucket, and just so happen to be hunting the same area the next day. hmmmmmmmm. i wonder

[LCG]

i wonder if you were picking black berrys and you filled a bucket. then on the way out you acceidently spill the bucket, and just so happen to be hunting the same area the next day. hmmmmmmmm. i wonder

Pretty much any attemp to get around the law would be illegal as long as they can prove it. A pile of pre picked berries would be illegal as would another hunters gut pile. I guess it would be pretty hard to prove intent if you used your camp site as bait. The law says "otherwise used for the purpose of attracting black bears". Cover scents are legal but the obvious intent with bacon would be baiting. More natural scents like wood smoke doe urine things like that would be legal.

Don

[huntnnw]

i was told by a gamie if you were to find a dead deer or etc as long as you dont move it to a location you can hunt over it. Say raod kill, deer makes it 40 yards off the road and dies, he said I could hang a stand and hunt over it.

[nocklehead]

I would think if you come across someone ELSES gutpile you could hunt it then, since you dint put it there....
So maybe you can bait deer, but there must be a law against purposefully dropping off apples or salt blocks in the Nat Forest? Is it only ok on private land? Could you get some kind of littering fine? Whats stopping me from hunting over a 500lb apple pile? Isnt there a law against feeding wild game?

[bowhunterforever]

I would think if you come across someone ELSES gutpile you could hunt it then, since you dint put it there....
So maybe you can bait deer, but there must be a law against purposefully dropping off apples or salt blocks in the Nat Forest? Is it only ok on private land? Could you get some kind of littering fine? Whats stopping me from hunting over a 500lb apple pile? Isnt there a law against feeding wild game?

Putting apples on Nat forest wouldn't be against the law, there bio degradeable. I think it's illeagal to put salt blocks on Nat forest land cause they consider it littering, and nothing is stoping you from hunt over 500lbs of apples but yourself. The only game you cant feed and hunt is bears and game birds.

[grundy53]

I would think if you come across someone ELSES gutpile you could hunt it then, since you dint put it there....
So maybe you can bait deer, but there must be a law against purposefully dropping off apples or salt blocks in the Nat Forest? Is it only ok on private land? Could you get some kind of littering fine? Whats stopping me from hunting over a 500lb apple pile? Isnt there a law against feeding wild game?

Putting apples on Nat forest wouldn't be against the law, there bio degradeable. I think it's illeagal to put salt blocks on Nat forest land cause they consider it littering, and nothing is stoping you from hunt over 500lbs of apples but yourself. The only game you cant feed and hunt is bears and game birds.

Ranchers put out salt blocks all the time on NF land for their cattle  salt blocks are biodegradable too....

[nocklehead]

Sweet! well I dont have 500 lbs, but I got 70lbs from a neighbors tree and I thought it was ok but not sure, Ill go tell the gf to stop giving me a hard time!

[flyguide]

I ask a WSFW officer about using anise oil. I was told no, as that is considered baiting.  Just an anti-hunting law that that was voted in by an uniformed voting public.

What is a uniformed public?  Do they wear a special type of suit or uniform?

[andersonjk4]