The hunting fraternity aired a host of concerns, including the ban on deer baiting, at Thursday’s Vilas County Deer Advisory Council meeting in Conover.
Several citizens complained about low deer numbers, the impact that predators such as coyotes and bobcats have on deer, and a couple voices saying it was time to restrict the number of antlerless deer youth can bag.
Deer feeding and baiting in Oneida, Vilas and Forest counties is now prohibited after a deer killed on a Three Lakes deer farm last December tested positive for chronic wasting disease.
Lake Tomahawk resident and long-time hunter Kelly Thiel supports the ban.
I will tell you that the hunting has gone bad. And I believe the sole reason it has gone bad is because of the baiting that’s gone out there and the feeding in the Northwoods...You know what the saddest thing is of this whole thing? When you see a 12-year-old kid getting ready for hunting, and he’s carrying a five-gallon pail of corn, or apples or hay, and he’s dumping it. We’ve got a problem from an ethics standpoint, and now we’ve got a disease threat.
The meeting was a prelude to the official council meetings in March and April when deer management recommendations for Vilas County are made for the state Natural Resources Board’s review.
