Greetings fellow club members. I am thankful for the questions posed to me at the June 25th General Membership meeting. One question in particular will be the focus of this month’s update.

What’s the status of being able to use bait while deer hunting in Michigan?

Using bait to increase the chances of taking deer raises some passionate opinions among hunters. I have no opposition to using bait from an ethical or fair chase standpoint. The Michigan DNR (and MUCC and OCSC) all support using only ethical and fair chase methods, which baiting can indeed be. The reasons for not allowing baiting in Michigan are based on the fact that Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) has been found in free-ranging deer in various counties in our state. CWD is a fatal condition for the deer but is not known to be transmissible to humans or cattle. A plan that was prepared before CWD was found called for banning baiting when and if CWD was found. And that’s what happened. CWD has been found in 14 of 68 lower peninsula counties and 1 of 15 counties in the upper peninsula. Using bait for deer hunting in the lower peninsula has been banned since 2019. Baiting is not banned in the upper peninsula (with the exception of one county). Baiting of any sort for waterfowl or turkeys is illegal. Baiting for bears is allowed with certain restrictions.

The concern is that baiting increases contact among deer and causes CWD (and bovine tuberculosis) to spread more readily. This has been the commonly held belief for many years and there is research to support it. But some in the hunting community are starting to doubt the added significance that baiting purportedly causes, pointing out that deer have frequent contact all of the time regardless of whether bait is present. And infection rates aren’t significantly changing. They lick branches, food, and each other. The disease still exists and likely will continue to be present always. So now in 2025, baiting has been banned in the lower for six years.

Recently however, there has been some discussion of legislative action. Some are saying because the DNR needs increased funding, they may be willing to allow baiting if fees can be increased. There is pending legislation on both.
Our deer herd is overpopulating many areas. Our hunting heritage is in danger due to a decline in the number of people who hunt, even occasionally. I believe allowing baiting would attract more hunters and perhaps more new hunters, which we desperately need.

Other related questions associated with this issue include “why do they sell all those tons of corn and beets and carrots at gas stations across our state?” and “why can I hunt next to an apple tree but not next to a bushel of apples I gathered from that apple tree?” My opinion is that I would like to see baiting allowed, but I question whether legislation is the right course of action. The Michigan Natural Resources Commission has the authority to do this but will not. To be fair, the NRC is likely erring on the side of caution and are being urged by biologists to do so. Politics and opinion and science don’t always agree. Yet science AND politics AND opinion are all at play in this discussion and all will play a part in the final outcome. In the meantime, search for rubs, scrapes, food sources, and travel corridors and plan accordingly.

What do you think about using bait while hunting deer? I would appreciate hearing your opinion.

Dave Budnick
OCSC rep to MUCC
(248) 978-3454
davebudnick@comcast.net
davebudnick.com