[kenton6]

How many of you know about this? And are there any opinions about this?
This is not law but is being considered by the MDIFW legislative committee next month - Feb. 1 and 6 at the Cross Building in Augusta.

Bill Sponsors: Representative LANSLEY of Sabattus Cosponsored By: Representative CEBRA of Naples
Representative NASS of Acton
Representative ROBINSON of Raymond
Representative SAVIELLO of Wilton
Representative VAUGHAN of Durham

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. [FONT=Times New Roman,Times,Georgia,serif]12 MRSA §10657 [/FONT] is enacted to read:
§ 10657. Feeding wild turkey or deer
1. Feeding wild turkey. A person may not intentionally feed a wild turkey. A. A person who violates this subsection commits a civil violation for which a fine of not less than $100 or more than $500 may be adjudged.
B. A person who violates this subsection after having been adjudicated of a prior violation of this subsection commits a civil violation for which a fine of not less than $500 or more than $1,000 may be adjudged.
C. A person who violates this subsection after having been adjudicated of 2 or more prior violations of this subsection commits a Class E crime.
D. A person who violates this subsection after having been adjudicated as having committed 3 or more civil violations under this Part within the previous 5-year period commits a Class E crime.

2. Feeding deer. A person may not intentionally feed or provide salt to a deer. A. A person who violates this subsection commits a civil violation for which a fine of not less than $100 or more than $500 may be adjudged.
B. A person who violates this subsection after having been adjudicated of a prior violation of this subsection commits a civil violation for which a fine of not less than $500 or more than $1,000 may be adjudged.
C. A person who violates this subsection after having been adjudicated of 2 or more prior violations of this subsection commits a Class E crime.
D. A person who violates this subsection after having been adjudicated as having committed 3 or more civil violations under this Part within the previous 5-year period commits a Class E crime.

4. Exceptions. This section does not apply to the feeding of wild turkey or deer pursuant to section 10105, subsection 10 and chapter 915, subchapter 15 and Title 7 sections 1809 and 3933 and Title 7, chapters 202 and 202-A. This section does not apply to activities of the department conducted pursuant to section 10051.

summary​

This bill prohibits a person from feeding a wild turkey or deer.

 

[LostAgain2]

wow!

I guess that would put a stop to the feeding that some of our hunting clubs have been doing up in the Allagash. Donations would be collected, then the club would buy some deer feed from a broker in Canada. The feed was put into feed bins by a local man who would regularly keep an eye on the deer in a nearby yard during the worst of the winter. When the bins were low on feed he would refill them. It was widely known and people from throughout the northern area would go and watch the deer in these yards during the winter.
I know the wardens and biologists knew about it. I videod a small piebald deer there one year. We must have seen over 100 deer in this one yard in just a few hours. It was quite an attraction. I don't know if anything has been done for the last year or so. Maybe the state did put a stop to it.

Too bad, it was true deer feed and did help out the deer through the worst parts of the winter. It was however very expensive. I think the last year that I was involved we had purchased 3 tons of feed!! Anyone else out there heard about these efforts?

 

[kenton6]

Feeding deer has its ups and downs and it depends on whether you look at the glass half full or half empty.

Feeding the deer the wrong food can be deadly. Feeding them when it's not necessary does them no good.

Should we feed them during emergency situations? And who determines when it is emergency. I some states, like Idaho, they have a plan that is supposed to kick in when emergency feeding is necessary. The problems they have had, other than the political BS, is by the time someone determines "it's an emergency" it's too late.

Much discussion also revolves around the spread of disease if deer are unnaturally brought together.

Sometimes the feeding takes place that has a negative effect in that deer are drawn out of the yards for the food. Deer yards provide protection from the elements. Some deer will never return to the yards. They hang around the feeding areas exposing them at times to harsher weather, etc.

It's a tricky topic with no black and white answers that I can see.

 

[aroostookbasser]

Looks like the Amish in Oakfield would have to change their ways..... then there's that woman out on Bootfoot road.....that guy out on Knowles Corner....another fella out Harvey siding.......boy them deer are gonna miss all them free feeds.........

 

[Cap'n Jack Duggins]

The FIRST requirement for any new law is for it to be ENFORCABLE.
The question I have is there are lots of folks who have their land deeded into open space for wildlife management which gives them a certain tax break. One of the requirements is to provide food plots as well as habitat managment in order to keep this land designation.
What would the state do in these cases?

Bottom line, stupid- unnessicary-unenforcable law,

 

[kenton6]

My question is what is the purpose of this law? It looks to me the way the bill is worded, the object is to prohibit the domestication of deer and wild turkeys. Say what? We never seemed to mind domesticating Canada geese.

First of all, there doesn't seem to be any real viable reason to prohibit feeding. Yes, a lot of it is done but the impact is minimal statewide.

Biologists will differ greatly on the effects of supplemental feeding. I'm reading an article right now about the ups and downs of supplemental feeding during the winter. According to the author, studies show that if there is ample "natural" browse for deer, the majority of deer will never show up at a feeding station.

If that is true, what's the big deal? And as Jack said, this law would be completely unenforceable. I think someone's got a burr up their butt and their ignorance of deer and turkey biology is shining through.

 

[Cap'n Jack Duggins]

Think about it, if someone plants foodplots, spring summer & fall to improve wildlife health on land that is posted, then someone tresspasses and finds these plots and reports them to IF&W, can the wardens then enter that property under a "probable cause" or "suspecting a law being broken"?

When something like this gets to court, wouldn't the "probable cause" (being illegal entry) be thrown out of court thereby making any evidence of the alledged foodplots inadmisable?

If this law passes, what is to prevent people from planting human food, like potatoes, corn, oats, soybeans, beets, squash and more to feed his family and leaving the surplus in the field? Of course, the STATE would have to prove "intent" and that is pretty tough to do.

All this thought from a high school grad, and those "smart" folks in Augusta are writing this stuff?











B R I L L I A N T !:beer:

 

[aroostookbasser]

SMART = State 'o Mainers Against Retarded Talk?

 

[kenton6]

You're right Jack. Logic will tell us, for whatever that is worth these days, that the case would be thrown out based on evidence collected through illegal access.
Your scenario delves into property rights which is a completely different discussion than simply feeding and "domesticating" deer and turkey.

 

[strings54]

i had a long talk with a biologist friend down in NH on the issue of feeding deer. to make a long story short he said fish and game wanted to discourage feeding due to a pecieved ownership issue that people who feed develop.after feeding deer and or turkeys for awhile it seems some get the notion that because they feed them on their land they own them. and when someone hunts these [percieved] owned animals, the iratated owners sometime post the land as to keep their animals to themselves. i have read all the hoopla on feeding as im sure everyone else has and i dont buy the ,its not good for the herd thing. in NH in the not so distant past the pittsburg area had an extremely low deer herd and the locals would migrate south where the deer and doe days were more liberal. now if you look at the same area today pittsburg is teaming with deer and actually has more doe days than some of the southern areas of the state. my opinion winter feeding. if you dont believe me go across the border and you will see deer in every yard,field,parking lot,etc the herd has made a giant turn around, get my drift. and i dont believe its because the woods is producing much more food to sustain them through the winter. yes the winters arent the same as the old days. so i say let anyone who wants to feed deer do it and coach them on the proper way to go about it. my two cents for what its worth. strings

 

[kenton6]

Good point about the ownership thing.

 

[aroostookbasser]

I'll give ya 1.50 !!!!!!!! :bana:

 

[ccobbett]

In NH you can bait deer and bust him over a corn pile you can see from outer space. So why deny me a few food plots.

Its all about preperation. For lots of people around the nation hunting preperation = scouting and planting food plots. Every year I learn more about deer nutrition and how and why to plant plots. It has been a new part of an old game.

 

[kenton6]

I understand what you are saying but we are "sort of" talking about 2 different things. There is feeding deer with the idea of domesticating, like making them your pets, and then there's feeding them for the purpose of killing them, known as baiting or hunting over bait.

Groups such as Quality Deer Management advocate for growing food plots for the purpose of helping to grow healthier bigger deer. Many states will allow this but no hunting within a prescribed distance of a food plot - i.e. no baiting or killing over bait/food plot.

There is a difference here and as long as Maine law continues to state that you cannot bait deer - for the purpose of killing it - nothing will change until now. If this law passes, essentially neither you and I nor anyone else can feed, whether by hand or through food plots any deer or turkeys.

 

[aroostookbasser]

hope they don't find my biologic.................

 

[kenton6]

Found this article today from a wildlife biologist in New Brunswick, Canada.

Putting out food for white-tailed deer during the winter can be a fatal act of kindness, New Brunswick natural resources officials say.
Rangers suspect a recent flux in deer roadkills in rural areas around Fredericton is happening because people are feeding the deer. The promise of food brings the animals closer to roads, where a deer is no match for a speeding car.
Provincial deer biologist Rod Cumberland put out a public appeal Tuesday to stop feeding deer, not only because of roadkills, but also because feeding can spread diseases.
"The closest [disease] is New York with chronic wasting disease; there's a new resurgence of BSE out west in Michigan and Wisconsin," Cumberland said.
"People seem to be doing it more, so we're being more assertive in saying, listen, there's a lot of negative impacts to feeding deer."
One is that some dead deer are being found starved to death, but with full stomachs.

"People wind up feeding them hay or alfalfa or whatever they assume a deer is going to be able to consume," Cumberland said. "But they have bacteria in their stomach, and that bacteria needs some time to adapt to whatever's coming into the stomach so they can digest it.
"People put out a certain type of feed. It's a big change all of a sudden, and the bacteria can't break it down. So their stomach's full … and they wind up dying."
There are other downsides. A wintering deer herd was stranded by heavy snow nine years ago in the Tobique Valley and was fed by local rangers.
The herd ended up liking the area and came back during harvest time and ruined a local farmer's crop.

 

[Cap'n Jack Duggins]

Can't feed deer and turkey but it's OK to feed squirrels, coyote, tweetie birds?

Since when did the animals become "not-so-equal"? Isn't this discrimination? If these poor little critters have all these HUMAN quality's, why not go all the way?

Sounds rediculous, doesn't it?

Maybe this is a local/town issue more than a state-wide issue. It takes more than eight hours to travel top to bottom in Maine, meaning MAINE IS A HUGE PLACE!
How can we have 25 or 30 WMD's and then try to pass a statewide don't-feed-the-wildlife law?

Read my signature, please!

 

[kenton6]

But people don't think about guns killing tweedie birds, squirrels, etc.

None of it makes any sense and the world is full of double standards and yes, Jack I read your signature - everyday.

 

[aroostookbasser]

I wonder what the boys over at "Quality Deer Management Association" have to say. THeir field rep was at a game supper I went to in January. said he had been talking to MDIFW......... boy ain't he gonna be .........:faint: