if Chuckie has anything to do with it then under 16 and over 65's, and landowners too, will have to get the permit to hunt over bait. Can't let those leaches get away without paying.
Have you read the law??? It specifically states "A person exempt from purchasing a hunting license shall not be exempt from the requirement to purchase a bait privilege license"
Pretty straight forward. Like it or not its plain as day as compared to some of our other game laws.
What about all of us that have that pesky little thing called a Lifetime License that we bought 20-30 years ago that said it was good for all hunting privileges in the state of Alabama. That will be an interesting one for the state to deal with. Like someone said above, that license, at the time purchased, covers all hunting and fees imposed by the state of Alabama related to the taking of wild game, "for the lifetime of the license holder". Duck stamps and federal stuff are a separate issue but this new baiting law is a new state imposed law and I along with a bunch of others don't feel like giving the state any more of my money since I already paid for that privilege "lump sum" a long time ago. If the state doesnt like it, then they should have never started selling lifetime licenses but they did because it was a way to get more $$, lump sum, into the coffers. I am almost 100% certain that on a legal basis, the state cannot require a lifetime license holder to have to buy a "bait permit". Remember that the State intentionally structured the bait privilege bill to be a "license" so that they could get matching federal funds on it. Well guess what, I and a several thousand others already have a lifetime license that says we can hunt anytime and anyway that we want on all lands in Alabama that we legally have access to, as long as it is within seasons and general hunting regulations as set forth by the DCNR. I'm not going to hunt over bait because I never have in the past but I do think the state is probably in somewhat of a legal pickle over this lifetime license thing.
