LANDOWNERS/HUNTERS ENCOURAGED TO AVOID BAITING VIOLATIONS BY CLEANING UP ARTIFICIALLY-PLACED FOOD NOW
With hunting seasons fast approaching, Pennsylvania Game Commission officials are reminding hunters and landowners who are feeding wildlife that they must clean up all non-naturally occurring food and any residue at least 30 days prior to the opening of the hunting season to avoid violating the state law that prohibits hunting over bait.
"The law clearly states that a person can not hunt in any area where bait or food is placed to serve as an enticement for game or wildlife unless all of the substance and its residue is removed 30 days prior to the season," said Richard Palmer, Game Commission Bureau of Wildlife Protection director. He noted that the specific section that prohibits hunting over bait is found in Title 34 (Game and Wildlife Code), Section 2308, subsection 8.
Palmer stressed that state law mirrors federal law, in that supplemental feeding is not considered a legitimate habitat management practice, and therefore not an exception to the prohibition on hunting through the use of bait.
For those hunters and landowners interested in helping wildlife, the Game Commission recommends the use of natural food plots and other habitat practices instead of supplemental feeding programs that have been scientifically proven to create negative impacts on wildlife.
"In addition to benefiting all wildlife, natural food plots are not a violation of the baiting statute," Palmer stressed. "The Game Commission maintains thousands of acres of food plots on its more than 1.4 million acres of State Game Lands as a means to improving the habitat for game and nongame species throughout the year."
Anyone aware of illegal baiting activity is encouraged to contact the region office that serves the county where the activity is occurring. Region office contact information, including a listing of the counties served, can be found on page 3 of the 2007-08 Pennsylvania Digest of Hunting and Trapping Regulations, which is provided to each license buyer, or by going to the Game Commission's website (
www.pgc.state.pa.us) and clicking on "Contact Us" at the bottom of the homepage.
"If you intend to hunt a property, simply remove all artificially placed food sources 30 days prior to the season and don't put food out until after the last season you intend to hunt," Palmer said. "Or, even better, don't put out artificial food and, instead, invest in habitat improvement projects on your property, such as planting a food plot."
