SPORTING CHANCE

Sporting Chance is a nonprofit organization providing outdoor opportunities for physically and mentally challenged adults and children. We help make experiences in the great outdoors a reality. Through its members and volunteers we have been able to bring a “sporting chance” to many individuals who are physically or mentally challenged.

We provide them alternative means to bag a deer and enjoy the great outdoors, and this is made possible with the help of baiting. Many of the Sporting Chance hunters have limitations preventing them from being able to turn their body allowing them to follow a moving deer. The deer must walk into their shooting lane in the direction they are aimed. Baiting of deer has made this impossible task become a reality for many hunters that would never have this opportunity.  Some Sporting Chance hunters have had success in harvesting their deer and in many cases their first and only deer. Because they were accepted by generous land owners, they had experienced volunteers as guides, adaptive equipment and they had feeders to make the hunt a level playing field. We only use a minimal amount of bait to alter a deer’s migration and not enough to attract deer that would normally not be passing through the area. We are not creating a gathering place for game. These same people probably have shot their last deer, if “baiting” is banned.

Sporting Chance believes a compromise is capable of being reached that will satisfy most everybody’s needs. We believe the quantity of bait should be limited to avoid drawing deer out of their natural habitat. The picture that has been painted is one of huge truck loads of bait being dumped attracting deer from miles around. This is a completely different scenario than the hunter that dumps a five gallon bucket of grain or corn, or a handful of apples in an attempt to get a deer to stop and allowing a clean ethical harvest of the animal.

History would indicate North Dakota has made exceptions for those that are disabled. We have legislation so people with disabilities can park close to businesses with a permit, the game and fish supports people with disabilities providing them the opportunity to shoot out of a vehicle. Why not over bait? Sometimes we forget that we’re one accident away from being severely disabled. Is deer hunting something you’d look forward to and would like to continue?

Sporting Chance stills believes in the game and fish department and would hope this is an oversight. If not, we hope the legislature does its homework and a compromise can be reached.