Wardens getting reports of hunters violating new bait ban

For the first time this fall, Washington hunters are not allowed to use bait when targeting elk, deer or moose.

So far, it appears to be a tough habit for some to kick.

Alan Myers, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife’s eastern region police captain, said officers across the 10-county region have been investigating violations of the new statewide ban on hunting big game over bait.

“People are calling it in left and right,” Myers said.

He added that wardens are also doling out a passel of warnings for people feeding wildlife – another activity that is now off limits.

WDFW ordered the statewide prohibitions, which were approved this spring, as part of a broader suite of rules meant to help the agency stem the spread of chronic wasting disease.

CWD is an always-fatal neurological condition affecting moose, elk and deer. It was found for the first time in Washington last summer, when a deer from North Spokane tested positive.

Biologists fear that the disease could decimate wildlife populations if left unchecked, so officials moved quickly to try to limit its spread with emergency regulations including carcass transport restrictions, testing requirements and localized bans on baiting and feeding.

In the spring, WDFW made those rules permanent and expanded where some of the rules applied. Testing requirements are now in place for any WDFW administrative region where the disease has been confirmed – just the Eastern Region for now – and the baiting and feeding bans went statewide.

Banning baiting and feeding is meant to slow the disease’s spread. Animals catch the condition through misfolded proteins known as prions, which infected animals shed through bodily fluids like urine and feces. The prions also persist on the landscape and remain infectious for years, meaning they pose a lasting threat.

Bait stations and food plots create places that bring deer or elk in on a regular basis, increasing the risk that an infected individual might leave behind prions that will make other animals sick. They also could lead to unnatural congregations of deer, where one infected animal could spread the disease to others.

The ban on baiting in particular also brought Washington in line with several other states that already prohibit hunting big game over bait, including Idaho and Montana.

WDFW learned during its public comment period in the spring that many hunters here have relied on bait to fill their tags each year. Some criticized the rule prohibiting baiting as an attempt by WDFW to limit hunting opportunities.

The rules were finalized in March and appeared in Washington’s 2025 hunting regulations. But archery and muzzleloader hunting seasons showed that some hunters did not get the memo.

Myers said wardens in all three detachments in the eastern region are investigating baiting violations. No charges had been filed in those cases as of Tuesday, but Myers said that could happen later.

He said it makes sense that full compliance with the regulations would take a couple of years, and that wardens understand that.

The testing rules seem to be getting followed, however. Myers said wardens have yet to catch hunters ignoring the requirement that they submit CWD samples from their elk, deer or moose.