Baiting
by Neil Rossmiller
Thanks to Gary Gulash and his recent thread in the wildlife forum on the baiting of wildlife,
The issue is bad enough when done by the unethical or the under educated civilians amongst us, but State sanctioned baiting is something I find even more abhorrent.
Individual behavior can be changed through the education of the individuals involved or by peer pressure, but to change the behavior of a State agency. Good Luck Ole Boy!
The Division of Wildlife here in Utah sponsors a program called "Viewable Wildlife" where, for "Eagle Days", they truck in loads of dead Carp to Farmington Bay Waterfowl Management Area to concentrate the Bald Eagles that winter along the shores of the Great Salt Lake to an area accessible to the masses.
The original process of controlling the carp in the fresh water ponds of FBWMA with Rotenone while the ponds were frozen and the carp concentrated near the slivers of moving water had the side affect of attracting all kinds of scavengers and non scavengers alike as well as photographers and other citizens interested in viewing the spectacle. Since the ponds don't get treated every year, (insert "overkill' pun here) so the Utah DWR has manufactured a need to import carp from other control areas to meet the demand of those unwilling to find the wildlife on their own.
This Male Northern Harrier is not a scavenger and hunts the marshes for rodents on most days, but when given a free lunch, he partook in the gift. Ring-necked Pheasants were also among those at the table. I was and still am stunned to see this induced behavior.
Where do you draw the line between feeding the birds and Baiting? I'd be interested in your Thoughts.
Canon 50D, Canon 400/2.8 w/1.4ext 1/3200th @f7.1 iso 500
Thanks for viewing.
Comments
7 commentsThis image really tells a story which is what EPJ is all about. It seems very nearsighted (stupid) that this is being done - there must have been some state level off environmental review which was conducted regarding this "plan", no? Perhaps the original plan was sound (we have dead fish - let's feed them to birds in the winter) but when you start marketing it as "eagle days" and "viewing wildlife" (in an unnatural state of affairs) the area becomes very murky.
Well composed image and nicely written commentary regarding this situation.
Excellent post . . .
Where to draw the line between baiting and feeding, or even the ethical points about each, will be different depending on the views of each person. The field of ethics (or discussion about ethics) can be overwhelming because there is such a broad spectrum of beliefs on what is ethical. On one extreme are those who believe that doing 'something/anything' solely for pleasure or personal gain is unethical - everything we do should have a greater purpose, or we shouldn't do it. On the other extreme are those who live by clichés like "eat, drink and be merry", "enjoy it while it lasts" or "win at all costs". That second group believe that self-gratification IS ethical, regardless of any consequences to others.
Thankfully, most people are somewhere in-between these two extremes. An action or behaviour will be considered unethical if there is a perceived harm or wrong-doing. Reading more about the "Eagle Day" is interesting - the carp are a non-native species, so are being controlled (i.e. killed off). The eagles naturally migrate to that area for winter. Rather than dispose of the carp in some landfill, the fish are fed to the eagles in selected locations and DWR employees are around to educate people who come to see the eagles for free.... While this artificial buffet-table set-up is a bit of a stretch for my own views, I can understand how some might find it OK.
The Banff story is as much a question of legality as it is ethics, because there are pretty clear laws about NOT feeding wildlife inside the National Parks, but it sure illustrates a contrast in management practices when compared to the "Viewable Wildlife - Eagle Day" concept that the Utah DWR offers.
Interesting and thought provoking post Neil!!!
Sandy
Being a conservative, my view of government is that it will inevitably over-reach.. It's the nature of the 'beast'.
You've provided a clear example here, they should call it Utah's Division of Wildlife 'Mis-management'
That aside, great image & very well documented