Fishing Forum

Well, if you are from WI maybe you'll understand how unprofessional and just "dumb-looking" the Wisconsin DNR looks right now. If it so happens that you are not familiar with or do not live in WI then let me bring you up to speed the best I can in as few words as possible. The 2002 gun whitetail deer season would prove to be an interesting and unusual year. This year (2002) the WiDNR and all of the media blew wide open the chronic wasting disease "problem" in a part of southwestern WI. At the time of the first reports it was not yet known the extent of the disease. So, naturally, the DNR and the media blow it all out of proportion to make it worse than it actually is. This led to most hunters that would normally take to the woods during the ripe opening weekend to think twice about taking out to the woods this year and question whether or not to ever hunt WI again. The DNR, knowing that fewer hunters would be harvesting deer this year, did what it could to get those hesitant hunters out into the woods. They published information on how to "properly" field dress the deer so that you wouldn't spread the disease should your deer have the disease. The DNR set up "mass testing" facilities at selected locations around the area. Many successful hunters came to have their deer cut up and samples taken and shipped off. For one, if there are hundreds or thousands of deer being processed here why on earth would you want to save any of your meat if all of the previous deer could have the disease? Now you wait 6 months and find out your deer was fine BEFORE it was processed! And second, if you are a hunter with any common sense you'd probably not harvest a "malnourished" animal (as the DNR describes a deer that possibly may have the disease). And then, after the gun deer season comes to an end and the DNR again sees that not enough deer were harvested, they get their bright ideas again. The plan: hire "special hunters", hired sharpshotters, to hunt the deer in the area of focus. HERE'S THE KICKER!!! ARE YOU READY FOR THIS?!?

The sharpshooters plan to shoot every deer that come by the bait piles and test them for the disease. Well, in WI this year it was made illegal to hunt deer by bait piles, yet the DNR can do it. Also, the area where most of the deer they want to shoot is on private property causing even more headaches. See, the DNR wants permission to hunt on these private lands to accomplish their "eradication". Most, if not all, of the landowners are denying the DNR to let these sharpshooters onto their land. "You're gonna kill all the deer that come to the bait piles? We're not even allowed to use bait even on private land and you're just gonna come onto my property, set up a bait pile, and then shoot all of the deer you see???" I think you get the picture as to where this is going. As of a month ago only 53 deer have been taken by sharpshooters, not an impressive number by any means to be considered an eradication. And what I don't get is the fact that they can use the bait piles, but for the public it is illegal. They are using a 200lb pile consisting of shelled corn, oats, and molasses mixed in. I wish they would actually come up with a solution which would help the hunters and the DNR. There are a lot of hunters in our state that have very good and possible ideas for which to solve the problem, but the DNR just wants to do it on their own. For me, I think that the DNR would be wise to set up a special hunt. Let hunters, private land and public land, have an extra week to hunt. See how that goes and then decide where to go from there. At least they can say they tried more than one solution to make both sides happy.

All in all I think that this state's DNR has not made the right choices in this matter. It has upset many hunters and landowners and now the DNR feels it is "between a rock and a hard place" as how to handle this situation. Some of you may be reading this and disagree with me and that is fine, and others of you may be reading this and agree, or even some of you will say they can see it from both sides. Whatever your view, I would be interested to hear what any of you have to say...
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i do agree with thinning out the herd to reduce the cross contamination theory , and now is the time while they are all herded up . but the thought of bringing in overpaid sharpshooters , well that just burns my biscuts ! baiting isn't my bag although in my early days of hunting before i honed my skills i did set a few out .
longer season for hunters ,yes .
sharpshooters, just a way of paying there friends or relitives to do what any average hunter could do with a extended season or limit . our d.n.r. paid a "friend" a few thousand dollers to shoot a rouge bear not five miles from here . the farm owner that lost three horses was not allowed to shoot the bear under threat of jail and fines . three weeks to dispatch this bear , it had a coller on . during thoes three weeks the farmer observed it several times .
over a d.n.r. controlled and maintained bait station , yes
i have not ever seen or heard of one hunter that could controll a bait station 24-7 . public baiting , no , same reason , the threat is too great to risk our herds .the future of hunting is at steak , as long as it isn't being forced into existance by auto insurance companys .
our herds were thined out because of all-state-AAA, uh , i mean bovine t.b.
thin out the herd to a minimal , but recoverable , herd size ,yes. protect the herd for the future , sacrifice now , to ensure a tomorow .as long as it is on the up and up .
well the d.n.r. is looking for another chrisis to boost its federal funding again . even though michigan has yet to find an infected deer within it's boundereys , the michigan d.n.r. recived additional funding and is building a 1.5 million doller facility in which it expects to test an average of 65 deer a year for c.w.d. i bet a poacher with a microscope and some bio-training could do ten times that out of the back of his pick-up truck .
we all can't agree on the same issues , but what each of us must do is to take the steps to voice our concerns about these issues , and my fellow hunter the best way i know how is to first join a hunting association that has the same principals that you belive in , there is strenth and power in numbers , your voices in a combined effort can change that which needs changeing ! then make calls ,send mail , get the attention of leguslaters than can help you . make a difference , for the future if not for yourself .
you have already questioned there practices , they work for you , demand an answer ! it is your right to ask , it is there responsibilty to reply .
i get along with d.n.r. co's pretty well , but i'de sure like to see some of there pencil pushers in the unemployment line !
thanks for letting me put my nickel's worth in , lonehunter .
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hi wolfman, what is this chronic wastin disease. is it a terminal disease where they are better off puttin down? and it,s not a diease where you can,t spot their sickly? and what causes it over populatin, that doesn,t sound it. sorry but i have never heard of it up here, we have tick problems, now. can,t git em on ya, they cause an awful diease, i take it it spreads, but can it be cured with pennicillin or some antibiotic somethin so,s ya don,t have to kill em to find out if they got it? i know with other animals like african shows and the fish and games here they check animals they think is sick. they have the guns that put em to sleep take and check animals for disease why not the deer? see if they can save em? and leave it to media to help with the situation, i bet when it comes to the peta ones. they,d have a field day with this one. but i can,t see killin off the herd only to find out none of em have it either. maybe let the farmers and you guys take care of it. by doin it this way? sendin blood samples in somewhere to git it checked? i guess i,m just tryin to hep. but i see what ya mean too many noses in the pot. haha maybe you guys nad the fish abd game could git together and work it out. your own towns should be able to take care of it the way you want. especially when they,re allowed to bait and you can,t that,s pretty petty. it seems i wouldn,t want to have my deer pprocessed with theirs if he didn,t have it not knowin how well they clean up after the last deer and spread it to mine either. that,s just like people havin operations and goin into after someone else that just had one. if it has to do with malnutrition seems though at fall when they should be thir fattest and look their best for the long winter they could tell which ones are sickly nd which ones aint,???? can,t put feed out that would take care of the problem meicines in their feed? well good luck on this situation. wish i could hep. later maybe skip a year of huntin and git this fixed???
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