Mississippi Told Hunters They Could Bait on Public Land This Fall. The Only Problem? It Was a Complete Hoax

The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks is warning hunters about a fake social media post that was made on an imposter page, and which announced that baiting would be allowed on all public lands during the 2025/2026 hunting season. In a news alert shared to Facebook Tuesday, the real MDWFP denounced this information as false, and said that any announcements regarding hunting regulations would be issued through the agency’s official social media accounts and other verified channels.

The agency also shared a screenshot of the post, which featured the same logo and agency name found on MDWFP’s official social pages. This might explain why the false post was shared and circulated among so many internet users, who must have overlooked the spelling and grammar errors it contained.

“We want more people to enjoy the natural recourses our states provide,” reads the post, which misspelled the word “resources” and referred to Mississippi as multiple “states.” The fake post also referenced a “baiting permit,” which is not actually a thing in the Magnolia State. Enough people believed it, though, that the agency had to issue a public statement Tuesday to set the record straight.

“The only conclusion I can definitely draw from this, is that folks really will believe just about anything these days,” writes Lake Pickle, a hunting personality and native Mississippian, in an Instagram post about the misinformation.

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To be clear, Mississippi’s regulations around supplemental feeding have not changed for the upcoming hunting season. In 2018, the state cracked down on the practice due to the presence of chronic wasting disease, and fears that supplemental feeding could help the disease spread. Baiting deer with corn, mineral supplements, grain, or other feed is prohibited on all public lands and wildlife management areas in Mississippi. Baiting is still allowed, however, on private lands that do not fall within the state’s CWD management zones.