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ADWA Special Report: Michigan Baiting Ban

With the fall hunting season already here, many Michigan hunters and farmers are coming to grips with a permanent ban on baiting deer in the Lower Peninsula.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources this year adopted a ban on baiting in the state’s Lower Peninsula following the discovery of one deer with Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in a privately owned facility in Kent County. The baiting ban was initially imposed on Aug. 26 as a six-month preventative measure, but Ingham County Circuit Judge Joyce Draganchuk upheld the ban last month which has allowed DNR authorities to extend the ban indefinitely.

The decision was a blow for farmers and store owners who sued because the financial hardship the ban created. As a result, Michigan hunters are now learning to switch hunting methods and Michigan farmers are left ‘holding the bag’ on up to a million dollars in unsold produce.

While many hunters were the first and most vocal opponents to the ban, the farmers are being hit the hardest by the ban. Feed crops had already been planted at the time of the Aug. 26 announcement of the ban. According to most farmers, those who sell corn will fair better than those who sell only sugar beets or carrots.

Chris Kollinger, owner of Memphis Feed and Supply, said about 30 percent of his annual revenue comes from selling corn as deer feed and the baiting ban has “pretty well killed it.”

One Saginaw County farmer told Michigan officials at a hearing. "You're killing a mosquito with a sledgehammer. You’re taking away people’s livelihood." The farmer said he raises 25 to 30 acres of sugar beets for deer bait and stands to lose around $25,000 because of the permanent ban.

Because of the economic hardships and lack of any real threat to the state’s deer herd, many hunters and organizations are looking for an ease in restrictions.

“We supported a ban on baiting while they were investigating the disease, now that the rest of the herd tested clean and they have not found any CWD in the wild, the ban should be lifted,” says Shawn Schafer, executive director of the North American Deer Farmers Association.

“Baiting does not cause disease,” continues Schafer. “It can help spread one, but it cannot cause one that is not there. NADeFA supports all legal forms of hunting and believe the choice of hunting over bait or not should be up to the hunter.”

NADeFA works closely with state and federal legislators and regulatory agencies to develop rules and regulations that govern the deer industry — which has an annual economic impact on the American economy of about $3 billion. NADeFA is a political voice for approximately 15,000 deer breeders, ranchers and farmers across the nation and is dedicated to the promotion of deer farming and ranching as an agricultural pursuit. NADeFA serves its members through numerous educational programs, publications and by maintaining quality standards.

Currently, there are numerous resolutions going through the Michigan House and Senate which urge the DNR to limit the bait ban to the area surrounding Kent County.

CWD is a fatal neurological disease that affects deer, elk and moose. Most cases of the disease have been in western states, but in the past several years, it has spread to some mid-western and eastern states. Infected animals display abnormal behaviors, progressive weight loss and physical debilitation. Current evidence suggests that the disease is transmitted through infectious, self-multiplying proteins (prions) contained in saliva and other fluids of infected animals. Susceptible animals can acquire CWD by direct exposure to these fluids or also from contaminated environments.