Proposed Bill Would Again Legalize Deer Baiting Throughout Michigan

Michigan House Bill No. 4445 would make deer baiting legal throughout the state if it passes. (Photo by Karel Bock)

If passed, a new bill would once again make deer baiting legal throughout Michigan during the open hunting season.

According to Midland Daily News, House Bill No. 4445, proposed by Representative Jennifer Wortz (R-35th District) and sponsored by nine other Republicans, would amend the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act to also include updated definitions of deer baiting and deer feeding.

Baiting and feeding are currently banned in the Lower Peninsula, measures that were implemented as part of a CWD response plan. In the banned areas, scents placed to entice deer, whether composed of natural or synthetic materials, must be placed where deer cannot access them.

“For years, unelected bureaucrats have interfered with Michigan deer hunters in the most ridiculous ways,” Wortz said in a press release on May 6. “The ban on deer baiting robs hunters of freedom and takes away a commonsense hunting tactic. This over-the-top mandate makes even less sense right now, with deer overpopulation wreaking havoc for farmers, gardeners, and drivers across Michigan. My plan will stop government overreach and restore freedom for hunters.”

In the bill, deer/elk baiting is defined as:

* Depositing, distributing, or tending of feed in an area frequented by wild, free-ranging white-tailed deer or elk to aid in the taking of deer or elk.

Feeding is defined as:

* Providing feed in areas frequented by deer or elk, but not for hunting, typically for survival or viewing.

Unchanged exceptions include:

* Feeding wild birds or other wildlife, if deer/elk are excluded.

* Feed scattered from normal logging or farming practices.

* Agricultural feed storage under certain conditions (e.g., livestock presence or covered feed).

House Bill 4445 was referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources and Tourism.