Free: Contests & Raffles.
Diehard I agree..Wild birds do not need to be fed they can survive on their own. Some people I know feed out of compassion and spent hundreds of dollars every winter when they don't need to. Many people feed to attract for the purposes of hunting however and this is unethical even if the laws give them ten days. It is using feed to attract for the purposes of grouping and keeping flocks on their property for the sole purpose of harvesting them. alternatives to feeding are.. Food plots grown with farming practices with the focus of providing habitat for wildlife year round. Food plots that contain forbs that attract insects for turkey poults. Or a field of uncut oats left for wintering wildlife. Its definately a grey area sometimes..especially in the waterfowl areas.
There is nothing unethical about feeding wild turkeys or other game birds. What is perceived as ethical varies from person to person based on their beliefs and experiences. Baiting turkeys is legal and accepted practice in many states. Same issue as baiting bears, deer, elk etc. For some reason WA has declared baiting birds and bears to be illegal but baiting deer & elk to be OK. Different rules in ID, TX or AL. That doesn’t make it unethical.
I don’t bait turkeys either. But I’m not going to be so bold and pious as to say baiting this animal is OK, baiting that one is bad. When I first moved to this state I was shocked to find that people “hunted” pheasants that were raised in captivity and released the day before the hunt. That’s not exactly “fair chase” the way I learned it, but again, I’m not going to label those that participate in this practice as unethical. We are all hunters and we have to be tolerant of each other’s methods whether we agree with them or not, unless those methods are illegal or there is sound biological reasons why they should be changed.
Why does everyone feel that bear should be an exception to the baiting rules? Not to hijack a turkey baiting post, but I don't think you need to bait bears to be successful. Study the bears, learn their natural food sources. Set up on those food sources, and at some point you'll see a bear. If you're worried about shooting a sow, then you need to learn how to better identify a sow. Isn't it the same as hunting any other animal? Learn their range, their food and water source and scout like crazy. Seems to work fine for most people on Turkey, Deer and Elk.
whats right and ethical in some places of this country are not considered ethical in other parts. whats ethical for some is not for others.it's just like western U.S. hunters talking smack about eastern U.S. hunters because they hunt out of treestands a couple hundred yards from the road. it's simply the way things are done back there. i don't think it's unethical to bait turkeys where it has it's place. personally i don't know why anyone would have to do it or want to do it on multiple levels, but it is what it is. doesn't mean i agree with everything, but don't really want division among hunters either. us hunters have enough problems facing us in the world
