North Dakota lawmakers consider bill that would change hunting over bait

Image courtesy of State of North Dakota

North Dakota legislators mulled testimony of big changes to hunting in North Dakota on Friday. Of the many bills impacting hunting, Senate Bill 2137 was reviewed, a bill that would remove the Department of Game and Fish’s ability to institute bans on hunting over bait until July 31, 2029 with the ability to revisit bans after the law expires.

Supporters of the bill said that the bans are based on overrated fears of chronic wasting disease, and an infringement of private property rights.

Opponents of the bill argue that removing the ability to place bans in hunting units where a case of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) or other diseases have been detected hurts the department’s ability to mitigate the spread in game populations.