because deer lead a life of solitude and neverending loneliness unless they run across a corn pile. I dont think ive ever seen more than one deer eating in the same foodplot or under the same oaktree, It is a miracle of God that they are even able to reproduce.

Legislators passed it Wiley, not the DCNR.

Surely the DCNR people had no part in it. What did they have to gain?

Money

Cha-ching.

But you know, as well as I do, that Chuckie and company were the biggest cheerleaders.
Would have never been approved without Chuckie's total support.
I cant wait for that sumbich to resign or retire.

I doubt the common man like us will ever have access to that type of info.

I'm betting 90% of license buyers also bought the bait extortion tax.

Glad to be a 10 Percenter.

I bought it. Cheap insurance. 😀😀

Press Release

May 8, 2019

Alabama Bait Bill Becomes Law

Bait privilege license on sale now

Hunters in Alabama can now hunt white-tailed deer (when in season) and feral pigs with the aid of bait on privately owned or leased lands if they have purchased and are in possession of an annual bait privilege license issued by the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR). The new license, $15 for resident individual hunters and $51 for non-residents, is now available anywhere hunting licenses are sold including online at www.outdooralabama.com.

Approved by the Alabama Legislature in April 2019, the new baiting law applies only to white-tailed deer and feral pigs on privately owned or leased lands. Baiting any wildlife – including white-tailed deer and feral pigs – on public lands remains illegal.

Hunters in possession of a valid bait privilege license can hunt feral pigs with the aid of bait as soon as that license is purchased. However, like all recreational hunting and fishing licenses, the bait privilege license will expire annually on August 31. To use bait for white-tailed deer and feral pigs during the 2019-2020 season, hunters must purchase or renew their annual bait privilege license.

There are no exemptions for the bait privilege license. All hunters who choose to hunt white-tailed deer and feral pigs with the aid of bait must purchase the bait privilege license regardless of their age or hunting license status. This includes hunters 65 years of age and older, those under 16 years of age, persons hunting on their own property and lifetime license holders. Additionally, the bait privilege is limited to the bait privilege license holder only. Each hunter must have their own bait privilege license when utilizing bait during hunting.

Under the new law, ADCNR can suspend the use of the bait privilege license on a county, regional or statewide basis to prevent the spread of disease among wildlife.

For those who choose not to hunt with the aid of bait, the Area Definition Regulation, which provides supplemental feeding guidance for landowners, is still in effect.

Revenue generated by the sale of the new bait privilege license will be federally matched nearly three to one to help support conservation efforts in Alabama.

For more information, contact the Alabama Division of Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Law Enforcement Section at 334-242-3467.

Purchase a Bait Privilege License Now
______________________________________________________________
I'm pulling a 49er here!

I saved the above email that came to my inbox from the DCNR back in May.

$15.00 or $51.00 bait privilege license PLUS a nearly 3 to 1 match from the Feds for every license sold.

Reckon what kind of revenue that generated for the state this year? I figure this revenue far exceeds the revenue from illegal baiting fines.

I can't help but wonder what it will be used for? It's money that we sportsmen helped to generate. What would it hurt for us to know how much was generated? What would it hurt for us to know what programs or conservation efforts it goes to support?

My guess is that we will never know how much came in or what it is going to be used for.

Calling a license to commit a crime a hunting license for the purpose of getting matching federal funds sounds like fraud.

It also sounds exactly like something Sykes would insist on being in a bill to amend the baiting law.

There's no difference. The crime didn't change. The fines and costs depend on what species you're hunting.

All that changed is paying for permission to commit the crime on private lands and not be charged while hunting two specific species of game animals. Be caught in the same baited area hunting any other species of game an you stand to be arrested.

Your baiting insurance won't cover you when you go turkey hunting near a spot where your buddy put corn and didn't clean it up and you don't know about it.

Yes, because we know nobody ever uses the golden stuff to lure those turkeys in...

I guess I should have used the word bait instead of corn.

And fines also depend on how many times you've been convicted of the crime. I failed to add that.

Yeah I though about it like but at times who knows how they think

Frankie, the penalties for baiting are explained in 9-11-246. Same as they've always been since 1989. It's considered a pretty serious crime unless you pay them to ignore it.

Up to 6 months in jail and loss of hunting rights for a year. $500 fine plus court cost and lawyer fees can get pretty expensive. Treated like you've done nothing wrong if you pay $15 first.

Don't offer to pay a game warden $15 not to arrest you after you've done it and got caught though. That's a class C felony.

Makes a lot of sense, don't it?