Legislation advancing in Michigan would lift the state’s ban on baiting and feeding deer in the Lower Peninsula and parts of the Upper Peninsula. The state House approved the bill 56-49 this week, sending it to the Senate for future consideration.
The ban was initially instituted by the Michigan Natural Resources Commission in 2018. The bill sponsor, Republican Representative Michelle Hoitenga of Manton, says the ban is “silly” and is hurting hunters. Democrats and some Republicans opposed the bill. Republican Representative Gary Howell of North Branch says voters entrusted the commission to make decisions about hunting.
The state Department of Natural Resources says baiting and feeding concentrates animals beyond their normal movement patterns, increasing the spread of chronic wasting disease and bovine tuberculosis.
