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Michigan House votes to lift ban on baiting, feeding deer

A deer in Michigan

LANSING, Mich. – 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 Tuesday. It goes to the Senate for future consideration.

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The ban was initially instituted by the Michigan Natural Resources Commission in 2018.

The bill sponsor, Republican Rep. Michelle Hoitenga of Manton, says the ban is "silly" and is hurting hunters. Democrats and some Republicans opposed the bill.

Republican Rep. 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 diseases and bovine tuberculosis.


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