Michigan Legislature sends Whitmer bill to lift ban on deer baiting

LANSING, Mich. – Michigan’s Republican-led Legislature has given final approval to a bill that would lift a state ban on using bait to hunt deer, but it faces a veto from Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.

Baiting deer and elk is prohibited throughout the entire Lower Peninsula and parts of the Upper Peninsula under a ban that was initially approved by the state Natural Resources Commission in 2018.

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The Michigan Department of Natural Resources says baiting and feeding that concentrates animals beyond their normal movement patterns increases the likelihood of disease transmission.

Republicans disagree and say the ban is driving hunters away, hurting efforts to control deer overpopulation.

The legislation won final House passage Tuesday.

Whitmer says the baiting ban should stay intact to continue curbing diseases.