[bigbear]

Let me start by saying a neighboring camp of ours killed a bear this morning. The local WCO came in to investigate and found that the bear in fact shot illegally over bait. I have no idea where the bear was shot, but I will say the camp owners only own 1 acre of land. My question is, if they shot the bear on their 1 acre of land which just so happens to border my property does a WCO have to post the entire area as baited if in fact it was shot on thier land? Maybe they shot it somewhere else, I just don't know right now but I don't want to have any issues come Monday morning. I called the NC Region office and requested that the local WCO call me and let me know if I can hunt my own property or if this poacher will have to force me to another spot. I however, really don't expect the WCO to call me. Does anyone have any insight they could provide. Let me say again, I have no idea where the bear was shot or where the bait was! I just don't want to be unknowingly hunting in a baited area.

 

[mathewsarcher996]

If you don't know where the bait is and the WCO don't call, I would hunt like I planned to.

 

[hunter4095]

its pretty much the call of the WCO to do what ever seems fit to the situation, dont sweat it untill you see signs going up.

 

[bigbear]

My problem is IF the bait is on this one acre property and the WCO doesn't post the area, what happens if he shows up at my stand monday morning which is about 300 yards from the camp. I should add the part that makes me suspicious we saw the WCO and the poacher walking right towards our property line this afternoon.

 

[mathewsarcher996]

They may have been checking the entire property, or how the terrain of the land is. It is a judgement call on how much to post off, and any trails that is used to get to the bait, from my understanding reading previous posts on this issue.

 

[psutrapper]

my question is why would you NOT expect the WCO to call you? If you called the office they will call you back.

 

[yotehunter74]

who is the WCO for your area?

 

[bigbear]

my question is why would you NOT expect the WCO to call you? If you called the office they will call you back.

I wouldn't bet on that!! I called in a few times for different things and have never gotten a response. This spring for example I bumped a sow out of a den with at least 1 newborn cub in the den. I think most WCO's would have tried to check it out to make sure she came back. Nope. Nothing. Called again twice for multiple shots fired in the middle of state forest land late at night. No call there either. I almost forgot the best. We found a baited treestand one day about 2 weeks before archery season started last year. We called, he came out one day when it was raining to check it out. Made it about 20 yards from the truck on our way to show him the stand when he said "I got the wrong boots on today for this" and left. Just trying to figure out why it would be different this time.

I'd rather not call out the WCO on here yet. If he doesn't get back to me, I will most definitely let it be known.

 

[gary3414]

As long as you don't know that the bait is there your fine.

 

[Woodywoodduck]

who is the WCO for your area?

That is the Million Dollar Question!

And there is another that should go right along with your's

WHY is it that guys Bash the heck out of the WCOs on here, but Refuse to say WHAT WCO it is?

My Personal Opinion is....the things they say go on, never go on the way they post it and that is the reasoning why they will not say the name of the WCO or what area it is in!

 

[mauser06]

gary, youd think thats true....but he just posted that he thinks it might be baited...its his responsibility to ensure that it is not....

if you seen the WCO and hunter walking in the woods, id venture to say they werent just goin for a walk to shoot the breeze....you could probably seen sweat comin off the hunter if he was indeed baitin!!

 

[Woodywoodduck]

As long as you don't know that the bait is there your fine.

WHAT??

I like ConCrnd_Sprtsmn's post up in the General Forum... it would also fit right along in this topic!

http://www.huntingpa.com/forums/ubbthrea...lat&fpart=7&q=1

Best part would be...
this..

The PGC won't do anything anyway... (they'll never get a chance to try if they don't know about it)

and this...

----- If the guy isn't planning on hunting there, there's no problem with it..... (So, why not let the WCO know ahead of time and if nobody shows up to hunt, nobody gets cited?)

You can not say if you do not know there is Bait, you would be fine....HOW?? When your supposed to look around your area you plan to hunt and make sure there is NO Baiting going on!


Lets just act like we are Dumb to the fact that there is Bait in the area...maybe the WCO will not even say anothing further when he asks us if we knew there was bait in the area and we tell him..HOPE!

 

[springfreak]

We are supposed to look around the area we hunt to make sure there is no baiting going on? When did this come about? Is this in the regs? How far are we supposed to look? Some people don't even look at their stand till they arrive in the dark on monday morn. I think you need a nap!

 

[Woodywoodduck]

We are supposed to look around the area we hunt to make sure there is no baiting going on? When did this come about? Is this in the regs? How far are we supposed to look? Some people don't even look at their stand till they arrive in the dark on monday morn. I think you need a nap!

WHO's Right is it then to make sure there is NO Bait in the area you are going to hunt?

The WCO? Oh, the WCO in Each County is supposed to go out to every inch of huntable areas in thier county and look for bait and tell the hunters if there is Bait in there?

The WCOs are supposed to be leading you by your hand and show you what is in your area you hunt.... it isn't up to you to look around and KNOW What is in the areas you plan to hunt?

So, when there is indeed Bait in the area your Hunting and a WCO comes up to you and asks if you know there is bait, your telling us, your going to tell him "It isn't MY responsiblity to Find out if there is Bait in here!"??


When did it come about that it is the Hunters responsiblity to know bait is in the area.. don't know how many years it has been, but it's been in the Comic Book for a few years Stating it!

do some Reading in the Comic Book....

http://www.pgc.state.pa.us/pgc/lib/pgc/digestpdfs/2009/generalhuntingregulations.pdf

Taking Advantage of Food or Bait: It is unlawful to hunt in or
around any area where artificial or natural bait, food, hay, grain,
fruit, nuts, salt, chemicals or minerals, including their residues, are
used, or have been used within the past 30 days, as an enticement
to lure game or wildlife regardless of the type or quantity. Hunters
are responsible for ensuring that the hunting area has not been
baited before they begin hunting. They should physically inspect
the area and question landowners, guides and caretakers. This
section does not pertain to hunting near areas where accepted
farming or habitat management practices are taking place (example:
hunting near food plots on game lands is legal). Any natural or
manmade nonliving bait can be used to attract coyotes for hunting
or trapping.
It is now lawful to hunt or take deer on private lands only in the
southeast special regulations areas (Bucks, Chester, Delaware,
Montgomery and Philadelphia counties) through the use of or
taking advantage of bait. Bait may be placed or distributed two
weeks prior to the opening of the first deer season and continue
until the deer seasons conclude. Bait accumulation in any one location
will not be permitted to exceed five gallons at any given time.
Decoys: Decoys simulating food are considered artificial bait and
are illegal. Examples: artificial corn to attract turkeys or waterfowl.
Any decoy, including electronic decoys, used in the trapping or
hunting of furbearers is permitted.
Scents & Lures: Scents and lures used for hunting white-tailed
deer are not interpreted as “bait” under the Game & Wildlife Code.
However, the use of scents or lures while hunting black bears is
prohibited.

 

[mauser06]

woody beat me to it! it surely is in the book...i didnt put that in my original post coz i made it up!

 

[Flanuva]

Just to add something about WCO's...I called last week about a nearby hunting club having homemade feeders up about every 150 yds on their land which borders SF. When I say feeders I mean the owners/lease holders bring in a truckload or two of corn and apples every couple days and drive around filling up the feeders. I called the Regional office and a DWCO called the next day. He stopped by the house, I gave him a google map of the area and marked the locations of the feeders and off he went. Even though the feeders were empty at the time, he and another DWCO spent about 6 hours looking and they continue to watch the ground. They were very polite and were genuinely interested
in doing what they could to stop illegal activity.

They are stretched very thin but dont give up hope.

 

[ancient indian]

It all goes back to what I believe is a major problem in this society,be it game law or any law or situation today and that is "taking responsibilty for your own actions. Many times a WCO has reasons on how he handles complaints and sometimes does not want to share them with the general public. If one person has loose lips then it cfan foul up a long time investigation and weeks of work. As for the shots in the night in the middle of a state forest, chasing shots is super iffy and a poor choice if you do not have additional information or a regular pattern to help. I would bet that the "boot" statement was a quick way to exit because of another reason, perhaps not the best excuse to use but he could care less about the boots, their given to him and 99.9% of the guys are working two or three or one hundred things and may have had a real good reason not to want to go in their at that time. The name of the game for a WCO is being able to prioritize (sp) and handle incidents that need handled quickly and then go back for the ones that can wait.Many times you have good intentions of calling a informant back and letting him know the status and or how the information was handled, but you get so busy this time of year that sometimes it just does not happen. Oh, by the way they have families also and would on occasion like to see there wife and kids just to make sure they are still alive. Also for all you who never walked the walk in a WCO' shoes, you get darn tired and many times are working on half a tank....They appreciate you caring and calling but you are only one and that situation is the most important to you but he has probably a dozen on the burner and more comming in all the time. It has been my experience that good solid info is always handled ASAP.

 

[gary3414]

. I have no idea where the bear was shot, but I will say the camp owners only own 1 acre of land.

If he doesn't know where the bear was shot he doesn't know where the bait is

 

[stoolshooter]

The ultimate question in the mind of any law enforcement officer is: Would a judge convict this person? With the facts presented, most likely not. On the other hand if the offender claims he told you where the baits were placed, and allowed you to hunt on his property, or there are other circumstances implying you knew it, you are probably guilty.

 

[protriple]

It's called something like the reasonable hunter standard, if it's not on your property it is assumed you don't know about it.