To bait or not to bait: a bear of a problem

Wes Seegars, former chairman of the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission, became so upset last year when the agency’s “conservation partners” opposed ideas for regulation changes that came out of the Big Game Committee’s summer meetings, he decided the commission wouldn’t make public the schedule for future meetings.

Seegars said he was acting upon legal advice he received, but Gov. Beverly Perdue reminded him, along with other agency heads, that they worked for the public, which has a right to attend. On Easter Sunday this year, he announced that committee meetings would remain open.

Steve Windham, the new chairman, may be tempted to head down the same road, because some ideas bandied about at recent Big Game Committee meetings regarding bear baiting are likely to generate — in fact, already have created — opposition. Lest anyone claim sportsmen misunderstand the process, let’s make it clear — these ideas are only in the discussion stage, although the commission had authorized a preliminary study on baiting by its lead bear biologist, Colleen Olfenbuttel, before its meeting in July.

We’ve seen the report; it’s thorough and informative.

Here’s the deal: A few years ago, if a bear hound ran past a corn pile created to lure deer (baiting for deer is legal, and deer and bear seasons overlap), the dog owner, landowner and other hunters could be cited and assessed fines for hunting over bait. That law obviously created problems — and seemed unfair — so the commission changed regulations to allow hounds to chase a bear past “natural-food” bait (corn, apples, yams), but not “processed foods” (candy, stale bread, honey buns).

Some sportsmen contended that hunters who run bears with dogs held an unfair advantage because of that bait clause. But still-hunting’s main goal is to kill bears, not exercise hounds, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But there’s a rub — still-hunters are more efficient at taking bears than dog hunters. And we don’t have an overabundance of bears.

The only legal baiting in North Carolina during hunting seasons is for whitetails, because the state has an estimated 1.2 million deer, and hunters annually kill about 12 to 14 percent of that total. But deer are prolific, so those animals are replaced in one year. On the other hand, the state’s bear population is between 8,000 to 14,000.

The commission’s staff study showed that unfettered still-hunting over bait could kill 38 percent of North Carolina’s bears in a season. That type of harvest could decimate bears in only a couple of seasons.

The committee met again in August and discussed three baiting options: a) outlaw all bear-baiting, b) add a three-day season for still-hunting over bait before hunters can hunt with dogs, c) add a three-day season for still hunters before dogs can be used, with no bait allowed.

Any type of still-hunt baiting is likely to create a much larger bear harvest, and dog hunters almost certainly will oppose that idea. But it is likely to be supported by owners of commercial hunting operations, as well as landowners with extensive holdings. One 600-pound bear could be worth thousands of dollars from hunters or in lease fees.

Several commissioners fall into the landowner category. If the proposal ever comes to a vote, they should recuse themselves. The commission oath, read before each meeting, requires nothing less.