House approves bill allowing supplemental feeding for hunting; amendments on setbacks and reporting fail

The North Dakota House of Representatives passed Senate Bill 21-37 on April 14, 2025, changing the state's rules on supplemental feed used during hunting and sending the measure to enrollment after a 56-34 final roll-call vote.

Supporters said the bill restores landowners’ ability to use supplemental feed while hunting and leaves disease surveillance to the Department of Game and Fish; opponents said the change risks spreading chronic wasting disease and could create disputes between neighbors. The House rejected two amendments that would have limited bait volume and imposed a reporting requirement for wildlife surveillance before approving the underlying bill.

“This is senate bill 2,137 that allows the baiting of deer during hunting season,” Representative Dee Anderson, the bill carrier, told the chamber when debate opened. The measure creates a new section in chapter 20.1-05 of the North Dakota Century Code addressing supplemental feed for hunting and…