All of Michigan Might Get Deer-Baiting Back

Holy Bag of Apples, Batman! Michigan deer hunters may get to bait deer again in all of Michigan - THIS DEER SEASON!

According to MLive.com, today the Michigan House Government Operations Committee voted 3-2 to "report legislation that would let people feed deer and elk unrestricted, and bait during regular hunting season". House Bill 4687 would let people bait during hunting seasons throughout the state. The bill now heads to the floor of the House for further review. It would have to be passed by the Senate and signed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to become law.

Opening day for regular firearms is only ten days away. I knew this was in the works, but I thought it was too late for this to happen this season. I may still be right about that. We'll see.

Chronic wasting disease, or CWD, is the reason this ban went into effect in the first place. CWD is found in deer, elk and moose. The first free-ranging white-tailed CWD-positive deer was found in Michigan in May 2015. CWD cases have been confirmed in Clinton, Eaton, Gratiot, Ionia, Ingham, Jackson, Kent, and Montcalm counties in the lower peninsula and in Dickinson County in the U.P. The DNR contends that CWD is spread among deer as they group up over bait piles. However, if you want to get rid of more deer and stop the spread of CWD - that's right - (IMO) let hunters use bait piles to make hunting them easier (in theory, at least).

I know not everyone baits, but generally, this is good news for a lot of Michigan hunters.

Here's the story.