Aldeer.com Forums Alabama Deer Talk Serious Deer Talk Forum Baiting Bill in Legislature

You are correct, sirs.

Does the bill specify what types of protein feed are allowed? seems to me that you can do this like you do with cows. cornfed with some heavy minerals and protein added. If you have to buy those stinkin bags of "sweet feed" its gonna suck. co-ops are gonna have to hire more employees

Guys this one is gonna pass. They basically copied Mississippi's 2011 feeder regulations word for word. Precedence is set and in place.

Unfortunately, it is written to pass and will. Here is the excerpt from MS feeder regulations for 2011. They basically copied it word for word. Straight out of MS handbook:

It shall be lawful to feed deer, year round, on private lands subject to the following restrictions:

• Feed may only be provided from above ground covered feeders or stationary spin cast feeders.
• Feed allowed in feeders:
◦ Complete Pelletized Ration:
■ October 1 - November 30
■ March 1 - June 30
■ Corn may be used and/or added to the Complete Pelletized Ration:
■ July 1 - September 30
■ December 1 - the last day in February
•Feeders may be placed no closer than 100 yards from any property boundary.
•Feed may not be poured, piled, or placed directly on the ground.
•Salt/mineral stations, blocks, and/or licks may be established.
A Complete Pelletized Ration is defined as a feed mixture in the form of a pellet that is nutritionally adequate for deer and containing at least 16% crude protein with a mixture of crude fat, crude fiber, vitamins, minerals, and does not contain any animal byproducts.



To hunt within the vicinity of a feeder hunters must be both: at least 100 yards away from, and not within the line of sight of feed or a feeder which contains feed. For the purpose of this regulation, not within the line of sight means being hidden from view by natural vegetation or naturally occurring terrain features.

This regulation does not apply to:

1. Food plots, standing crops, grain crops properly shucked on the field where grown, or grains found scattered solely as the result of normal agricultural planting or harvesting.
2.Lands where shelled, shucked, or unshucked corn, wheat or other grain, salt, or other feed has been distributed or scattered as the result of bona fide agricultural operations or procedures, or as a result of manipulation of a crop or other feed on the land where grown for wildlife management purposes. Manipulation of crops or other feed for wildlife management purposes does not include the adding, distributing, or scattering of grain or other feed (i.e., sweet potatoes, turnips, etc.) once it has been removed from or stored on the field where grown.
3.Feeders within the curtilage of the home. "Curtilage of the home" means the area encompassing the grounds immediately surrounding any home or group of homes used in the daily activities of domestic life, and may or may not be enclosed by a fence or other barrier.

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Personally, I rather see them adopt Miss's buck harvest regulations rather than their baiting regs but, as usual, the almighty dollar drives the train.

Anyone find it odd that there has been little/no comment from some of the ones here who have openly supported legalizing baiting?

Abolt300,


I don't agree with your description.

There are similarities.


Hunterbuck,


I have openly supported either fixing current laws or trashing them.

This bill is trash as well. It don't fix anything. It just makes things worse.

Not gonna affect most of the ones supporting it. We're in Alabama, chances are large portion of them were already baiting anyway. Now it will just be legal. If anything, I was expecting to start seeing complaints show up cause some of them will now have to go buy a feeder instead of just throwing it on the ground. Not in any way disrespecting the law abiding citizens that wanted the ability to bait with that first sentence. In some situations they probably want the ability to keep their deer from getting baited illegaly off their property which is a valid argument and has been happening for years. Without a complaint, a blind eye has been turned to the hunting over corn issue for years in AL. Too much land, too many hunters, not enough game wardens to keep it in check.

Not going to name names, but there are two or three specific ones that I was thinking of with that statement.

Anyone notice how the one's that are ALWAYS openly vocal against baiting are complaining the loudest because of this????

If you are against baiting, you are against ANYTHING that will legalize it.

So, carry on!

Look at it any way you want to I am 100 percent against it !
Nothing good can come out of this , If they would up their fees
for people caught hunting over it there wouldnt be problems now.
many way to improve hunting in Alabama up our license fees both in state and out of state and lets try and figure out ways to make our habitat better and ways to try and keep a balanced herd.
Hunting is supposed to be just that and baiting piles are not HUNTING , educate people on how to hunt ,scouting , fertilizing brows , fertilizing acorn trees , honeysuckle , etc.
We can argue all day I hope it doesnt pass ... but it will.

Not true, I really dont care if baiting is legal or not. I however do care about a law being passed the only allows those with the ways and means to do it legally can do it. How on earth can a guy who leases 100 acres legally pull off baiting the way this bill is written? Or what about those who hunt public land? This seems like a bill that is written for only those people who own enough land to do it. Baiting for the privileged? And just before any of you call me out, I am one of those privileged who own enough land to do this legally under the way the thing is written.

Would you please take the time to explain to me EXACTLY what these things you describe have to do with HUNTING???



You are describing BAITING to a 'T'.

Like I said hardhead, the problem isnt weather baiting is legal or not. Its about large tract private landowners vs small tract owners/leasers.

I understand your line of reasoning, and you are conveying your concerns as such......and they are valid!

But, I think that it is gonna pass sooner or later. And, when it does, there are STILL going to be a lot of people who will find fault with it no matter how it is written.

I am pretty sure that it does NOT say that you have to bait!

Agree, Skinny.

I am on the record as being dead set against baiting.

That aside, this bill is written exactly the way Skinny says it is. It is written to cater to people with deep pockets, and was probably bribed into legislation by those same people. The bill reads as some rich folks saying "We want to be able to bait legally, but we don't want anyone else to".

The more I think about it, I personally dont mind it. I'd rather see a no baiting law fully enforced because I do not see how baiting benefits the wildlife of this state. My PO. I just want to see it either available for all or the current "no baiting" law fully enforced with adequate manpower to do so. I am a law abiding hunter and if it's illegal, it aint happening in the club I run. But hey, I'm a glass is half full kinda guy. I'm seeing positives if it does get approved. A couple of my Marengo neighbors are gonna be happy that I quit calling the GW on them for illegaly baiting deer off me but ticked because now I can pay $50 and strategically place a couple feeders and reduce the deer sightings on their 40 acres down to exactly zero. I'm sure at that point I'll have to deal with them tresspassing but hey, one problem at a time. I've had them busted several times over the years but they and their family members pay the fine and continue to do it. This past year the GW was working with me trying to catch the guy and ended up catching the guy's wife one day and his mother about 2 weeks later. Never could catch him in the act. It takes a lot of man-hours to build a baiting case and they cant stay there all day everyday. I'll gladly pay a couple hundred bucks to not have to worry about them fringe hunting me and killing every 2 yr old that is stupid enough to walk across the line and stick his heads in a corn pile during daylight. People wanting it are gonna be surprised. Not a lot of mature bucks are gonna be shot eating from feeders. Not near a many as people think. They are too smart and will mostly visit a bait station after dark.

whens the vote?

1. yes, fines for illegal baiting should be raised, a lot. If you can afford to hunt you can afford to pay a $250-$500 fine if caught baiting. It's a small gamble for the unethical. Making the fine $5000 would make most baiters reconsider.

2. For those of you for baiting, by these regs. or any others, have you thought about the expense to feed deer out of feeders year around? My family could easily put out 8-10 feeders and be in complete compliance with this law but even if we wanted to bait it's hard for 5 people to justify spending $700+ per year per feeder for the feed only + feeder permit + a feeder + the time and money to travel to fill up the feeders once a month. When it's all said and done I would project $1200 per feeder first year and $850+ per feeder after you have bought the feeders. If you have enough land to comply with this reg. then you would need at least 4-5 feeders to make it worth while. So that's 4k to 5k per year just for feeders. Then you have the cost of the foodplots THAT YOU MUST PLANT to comply. So that is 5 acres minimum of foodplots which is another couple grand when it's all said and done. Hight dollar clubs could probably afford but the average land owner could not.

Yep, TD if you put out several feeders and follow "the letter of the law" could run into real money. Most of us don't have big bucks to spend on big bucks.

It is LEGAL to buy a Lamborghini right now.

But, if you can't afford it....

Nevermind, makes WAAYYYY too much sense to fit into all these arguments!

The way I read this you could do it on 40 acres. The feeder must be within 2oo yds of a 1 acre prepared seedbed. I take that to mean less than 200 yds. and not in your line of sight,100 yds of a property line. You could have the feeder on the edge of a plot and have it covered with natural vegatation. Just my 2 cents...