Sounds like reasonable question to me.I think some states view baiting more as a means of keeping animal populations under control then they doas being ethical/unethical.And they should, theyre jobs to manage the wildlife, not dictate ethics.

Bears as far as I know {never hunted them}would be much harder to control numbers on without the use of baiting.I cant remember where but a few years back I read an artical where baiting was banned somewhere for bears, hunting license sales dropped, kill numbers dropped way way down and they were worried about the long term affects it would have on the bear population.Never heard a follow up story so I cant say if the fears were justified.Kinda like banning cougar hunting with dogs then whining the mountain lions are eating the joggers, it dont make sense.

Bears also have laws pertaining to shooting sows and cubs I believe.A lotta the shows I see stress the fact that bears hanging around a bait pile are much easier to gauge the sex and size of then they would be otherwise.Deer either have antlers or they dont but its usually pretty obvious at a glance if its a legalbuck or not.

Same thing with a lot of hunting regs if you think about it.Why is it legal to hunt coon with dogs but not deer in many areas?Matter of fact taking a spotlight out and shooting a coon thats moving naturaly without dogs is illegal.Go figure