Deer hunters took verbal aim at each other last week during a House subcommittee hearing on a bill to allow baiting for deer in the Upstate.For years, Lowcountry hunters have been allowed to put out corn to attract deer. But the practice, referred to as baiting, was outlawed in the Upstate. The difference hearkened back to the middle of the last century, when deer were especially rare in the Upstate. Now, deer roam the entire state in large numbers.The current regulations create “a huge fairness issue that needs to be addressed,” said Chip Sharp, a former officer with the Department of Natural Resources who lives in Columbia.But Bob Bailey, president of the S.C. Sportsmen’s Coalition, spoke against the proposed changes, saying baiting is against his ethical compass and rewards poor hunting skills.“We have two generations of our hunters in the Lowcountry who don’t know how to hunt deer without guarding a corn pile,” Bailey said.
|
