When it is legal to bait bears in Washington

[woodman]

I have been talking with another member about baiting bears at a trail cam. We both can't seem to find a thread here about bear baiting with cameras. I called the Dept of Fish and Wildlife in Olympia  and they told that it was absolutely legal to put bait for predators in front of a trail cam and go ahead and do it as long as I am not hunting. When I asked, there was no hesitation with an answer from them. It seems that every time baiting is brought up here and bears are in the conversation, members jump on it right away and say it is illegal. I am hoping to get feed back if anyone knows anything different, especially Big Tex.

[Bob33]

I don't see how you can draw any other conclusion.  Can you?

(1) Notwithstanding the provisions of RCW 77.12.240, *77.36.020, 77.36.030, or any other provisions of law, it is unlawful to take, hunt, or attract black bear with the aid of bait.


http://apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=77.15.245

[rb2506]

just don't shoot a bear anywhere near your bait station

[woodman]

I don't see how you can draw any other conclusion.  Can you?

(1) Notwithstanding the provisions of RCW 77.12.240, *77.36.020, 77.36.030, or any other provisions of law, it is unlawful to take, hunt, or attract black bear with the aid of bait.


http://apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=77.15.245

Why would the state Dept. of Fish and Game headquarters say that it is legal to attract to a trail cam and go ahead and do it?

[huntnnw]

but when your dumping bait for deer (legal) bears come in

[Bob33]

I don't see how you can draw any other conclusion.  Can you?

(1) Notwithstanding the provisions of RCW 77.12.240, *77.36.020, 77.36.030, or any other provisions of law, it is unlawful to take, hunt, or attract black bear with the aid of bait.


http://apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=77.15.245

Why would the state Dept. of Fish and Game headquarters say that it is legal to attract to a trail cam and go ahead and do it?

I don't know why, but they have been known to be wrong on occasion.

[woodman]

I don't see how you can draw any other conclusion.  Can you?

(1) Notwithstanding the provisions of RCW 77.12.240, *77.36.020, 77.36.030, or any other provisions of law, it is unlawful to take, hunt, or attract black bear with the aid of bait.


http://apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=77.15.245

Why would the state Dept. of Fish and Game headquarters say that it is legal to attract to a trail cam and go ahead and do it?

I don't know why, but they have been known to be wrong on occasion.

Just curious, have you talked to any legal authorities about this?

[Bob33]

No.  Your question was whether or not it is legal.  Forget for a moment what anyone else said: can you reach any other conclusion when reading the RCW?

As for whether or not someone would be cited, that's an entirely different question.

[woodman]

No.  Your question was whether or not it is legal.  Forget for a moment what anyone else said: can you reach any other conclusion when reading the RCW?

As for whether or not someone would be cited, that's an entirely different question.

   

 (d) As used in this subsection, "bait" means 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.

Here it says that bait means to hunt for bears, I do think that trail cams do not fall under this description.

[KillBilly]

I have had the same conversation with several enforcement officers. I get the same answer from them. It is and has been legal to bait bears for the purpose of taking pictures or studying habits, etc. The caveat is that you can never harvest a bear at your bait sight. You also cannot harvest a bear at any deer or elk bait sight. In the rare occurence that you had to kill a bear near a bait sight to protect yourself, then you would have to report the incident, enforcement would investigate and take possesion of the bear. Bottom line it is legal to bait bear for almost any purpose other than to harvest it.

[Bob33]

Fair point.  I think it is unlikely it would cause a problem except during a hunting season.

[woodman]

Fair point.  I think it is unlikely it would cause a problem except during a hunting season.

Bob 33, I thank you for that. It would have been easy for you to be stubborn on your point.  I just really am curious because of the normal response that is given here.

[billythekidrock]

I have been talking with another member about baiting bears at a trail cam. We both can't seem to find a thread here about bear baiting with cameras. I called the Dept of Fish and Wildlife in Olympia  and they told that it was absolutely legal to put bait for predators in front of a trail cam and go ahead and do it as long as I am not hunting. When I asked, there was no hesitation with an answer from them. It seems that every time baiting is brought up here and bears are in the conversation, members jump on it right away and say it is illegal. I am hoping to get feed back if anyone knows anything different, especially Big Tex.

It is currently legal to bait for cameras, but you can bet when Enforcement passes their no feeding wildlife laws things will change.
 
Remember the ten bears killed or relocated near Long Beach?

[woodman]

 
Remember the ten bears killed or relocated near Long Beach?
[/quote]

No, I do not know about this. Is it listed somewhere on this site?

[bobcat]

WASHINGTON DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND WILDLIFE
 NEWS RELEASE
 600 Capitol Way North, Olympia, WA 98501-1091   
 

June 29, 2010  Contact: Mike Cenci, (360) 902-2938      Ten bears removed from Long Beach Peninsula town OLYMPIA - Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) officers and biologists last week removed 10 black bears that had been fed by people from the town of Oysterville, on the Long Beach Peninsula in Pacific County. Five of the bears - female adults and cubs - were relocated to the Mount Rainier area. Another five were so dangerously habituated to people that they were euthanized. Meat from the euthanized bears was donated to an area food program. "I hope we never have to do anything like this again," said WDFW Enforcement Sgt. Dan Chadwick, who helped coordinate the bear removal in response to public-safety concerns about the growing number of bears in the area. "I've never seen such a concentration of bears in such a small area. It was completely unnatural and it was caused by people feeding wild animals," Chadwick said. A bear that learns to associate people with food is a potentially dangerous bear, and cannot be relocated in the wild, Chadwick said. "We can't risk human life by releasing a bear that would cause problems for other people," he said. "A fed bear is a dead bear. We keep trying to communicate that, to try to prevent situations like this one." The Oysterville bear-feeding situation apparently had been going on for some time before a complaint was made, according to WDFW officers.  Most, if not all, the bear feeding was conducted at one residence. The residents told WDFW officers they were spending $4,000 a year on dog food to feed the bears. Neighbors reported they became concerned when more and more bears showed up looking for food. The bears were so familiar around people that when a WDFW officer arrived on the scene, one of the bears crawled into the cab of his pick-up truck, said WDFW Deputy Chief Mike Cenci. "This was a tragedy for wildlife," said Cenci. "We were obligated to act to prevent a human tragedy as well."  Photos Click on photos to enlarge