Baiting Ban Due to Michigan CWD!
Posted by MikeAdams on August 26, 2008
Effective immediately, according to a Michigan DNR press release, ALL BAITING of deer and elk in Michigan’s lower peninsula. Below is the official press release from the DNR.August 26, 2008
In the wake of Monday’s announcement that Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) has been confirmed in a three-year old privately-owned white-tailed deer in Kent County, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources is acting immediately to implement provisions of the state’s Surveillance and Response Plan for CWD.
Among the provisions is an immediate ban on all baiting and feeding of deer and elk in the Lower Peninsula. DNR conservation officers will step up surveillance and enforcement efforts on baiting. Baiting and feeding unnaturally congregate deer into close contact, thus increasing the transmission of contagious diseases such as CWD and bovine tuberculosis. Bait and feed sites increase the likelihood that those areas will become contaminated with the feces of infected animals, making them a source of CWD infection for years to come.
Additionally, the provisions include a mandatory deer check for hunters who take a deer within Tyrone, Solon, Nelson, Sparta, Algoma, Courtland, Alpine, Plainfield, and Cannon townships, which contain the surveillance area or “hot zone.” All hunters who take a deer during any deer hunting season this fall within the “hot zone” will be required to visit a DNR deer check station so that their deer can be tested for CWD. The DNR currently is seeking locations for additional deer check stations in the area to make it more convenient for hunters. To prevent unintentional spread of CWD, the only parts of deer harvested in the surveillance zone that will be allowed to be transported out will be boned meat, capes, and antlers cleaned of all soft tissues.
In addition, all transport of live wild deer, elk and moose will be prohibited statewide, including transport for rehabilitation purposes. Currently, there is no live animal test for CWD, and infected animals often show no signs of illness for years in spite of being infectious for other animals. Movement for rehabilitation purposes may speed geographic spread of the disease.
The DNR will act immediately to test an additional 300 deer within the “hot zone” in Kent County. The DNR will be cooperating with local officials to collect fresh road-killed deer, and will be urging deer hunters participating in the early antlerless season on private land in September to comply with the mandatory deer check.
Landowners in Kent County “hot zone” who would like to obtain disease control permits to cull deer from their property and assist with the collection of deer for testing should contact the DNR’s Wildlife Disease Lab at 517-336-5030. Permits will be available immediately upon request. Landowners who do not want to cull deer, but want to participate in the collection of deer for testing, can obtain assistance from the DNR in culling deer.
DNR officials reminded citizens that, to date, there is no evidence that CWD poses a risk to humans, nor has there been verified evidence that the disease can be transmitted to humans.
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 Midwestern and eastern states. Infected animals display abnormal behaviors, loss of bodily functions and a progressive weight loss. Current evidence suggests that the disease is transmitted through infectious, self-multiplying proteins (prions). Prions are normal cell proteins whose shape has been transformed, causing CWD. The disease is transmitted by exposure to saliva of infected animals. Susceptible animals can also acquire CWD by eating feces from an infected animal, or soil contaminated by them. Once contaminated, soil can remain a source of infection for many years, making CWD a particularly difficult disease to manage.
More information about CWD is available on the State of Michigan’s Emerging Diseases Web site at www.michigan.gov/chronicwastingdisease.
Why should every Michigan resident who baits, have to stop baiting because of 1 deer from a fenced in private deer farm that contracted CWD?
August 26th, 2008 at 8:05 pm
Every resident in Michigan doesn’t have to stop baiting only those hunting in lower Michigan. Now I know that I am going to ruffle some feathers by saying this but I am glad that they have finally banned baiting. The way the laws were written on baiting it was hard to enforce and wasn’t, in my opinion fair. Now it will be easier to enforce an be more fair. Personally I would rather error on the side of caution when it comes to CDW than to be saying man we should have done this or that after it is in the wild deer herd. To set the record straight I don’t have a problem if someone chooses to bait, as long as it is legal, I just don’t choose to and have seen more deer not baiting than I did baiting. That is just my opinion.
August 26th, 2008 at 9:54 pm
I see your point but we enjoy feeding the deer year around. Even at my property up North aways… I feed almost year around… nothing much, just proportionate amounts depending on the natural feed amounts that particular time of year. The first couple of years there, we rarely saw any wildlife. Now with a food plot and the feeding, we get to enjoy the animals that much more and year around.
I realize that there are “hunters”; you notice I didn’t say “ethical” hunters.. that down right violate the feeding laws on a constant basis. But I can speak for everyone of us and our neighbors.. we feed them to see deer and we also bait during the season to draw them out of the thick and into range. We take enough to eat and no more… We were taught to eat what you kill. No more, no less. Good Hunting.
August 27th, 2008 at 12:10 am
i think that this is great , you know that you will still have your exsessive baiters out there until the dnr imposes a STIFF penalty for baiting ,then only then will it change i only bait because they will put out tons and draw all the deer
August 27th, 2008 at 7:39 am
it is for all the lower peninusla
August 27th, 2008 at 7:40 am
Dave,
It is for all of the lower peninsula. I do bait during hunting season, maybe a couple buckets over the whole season, so I won’t see much of a change. However, I question the ban when you think about the deer the CWD was found in…. it was a penned deer with no contact to wild animals at all. Was it imported with the disease? was it born in Michigan? What was the owners intention for that deer? How can a penned deer infect all the wild deer in Michigan? How does a penned deer, infected with CWD in Kent county, infect deer in Zone 2? or Washtenaw county?… Did the DNR jump the gun and over react? good question to think about. What about all the mom and pop shops that will be put out of business this year because of this? What about other game ranches? How did the deer in Kent county endanger the Elk at Amber Elk Ranch in Ludington? or others? They are certainly in danger now of going out of business and of the animals facing the possibilty of being destroyed…
August 27th, 2008 at 9:00 am
deerhtn those are good questions that deserve answers from the DNR. But Lets look at the health of the great lakes right now with all of the invasive species in the there are having major effect on the fishery as an example of what could happen. Once they are in the great lakes it is next to impossible to get rid of them so the best option is to prevent them from getting their in the first place. If our government would have been proactive from the start in regaurds to foreign ships dumping their ballast water in the great lakes we would be a lot better off and spending a less money trying to get rid of the invasive species but they were not. Now we have VHS, for one, in the great lakes kill off fish and at one point shutting down many of the fish hatcheries extremely limited the stocking that was done in the state. Not to mention the amount of money that has been spent to try and figure how to fight VHS. Plus it is only a matter of time before many of the inland lake have it, one in Clare county does already. So based on our past experiences with situations like this I am glad to see the DNR for being proactive. Like I said before I would rather error on the side of caution than to regret it later. We all know that the DNR doesn’t have the best public image right now and I am sure that this isn’t going to help that at all. What I think their thinking behind the ban is that they don’t know if it is in the wild herd or not and if so to what extent and that is what they are trying to find out. Once they know they you will probably see them lessen the ban or elimnate it all together if it isn’t in the wild herd. I guess only time will tell.
Wayne that is a good point that you bring up about feeding deer to watch them that I never thought of.
August 27th, 2008 at 11:41 am
Tim,
I’m thinking we’re not getting all the information on why the DNR slammed the door on baiting…I can understand not moving animals around if they have concerns that this location moved deer to other places in Michigan and ones that have elk too,,,which then moved else where…. My guess is that they need time to figure out the bread trail, then we’ll see some revisions on the controls.
August 27th, 2008 at 12:02 pm
I think that you are absolutely correct. Also do we ever get all the information on why the DNR does what they do? I only hope that they don’t find anything the wild herd although to be honest I think it is just a matter of time before it is here.
August 27th, 2008 at 12:19 pm
just a matter of time is right. i’ve been anticipateing this since it hit wisconsin. let’s just do what we KNOW is right and stop being stupid. STOP feeding in a manner that may promote the spread of ANY desease[ie. communal] and be aware of the potential devastation to our favorite game animal!! ps this may include mineral sites[licks] too. support the dnr, they are faced with a tough job! godspeed and good huntin..–..–gl
August 28th, 2008 at 1:48 pm
I’m all for backing our DNR. They do a great job with what they have to work with. I too work in public service and everything I do is scrutinized by the public…much of the time it is only what they interpret as bad, is what draws their attention… rarely all the good that we do gets any attention. I guess this is human nature.
I believe the DNR is doing a good job… but like I said, only what is perceived as bad gets printed. I’m hoping they will reconsider the “ban” and just enforce the baiting laws that are currently on the books instead of outlawing it completely. These knee jerk reactions often create more problems than what they are intended to solve.
August 29th, 2008 at 10:06 pm
[...] & Storage News » News News Baiting Ban Due to Michigan CWD!2008-08-29 21:21:43Bodily states, but in the disease have been in western states, but in western [...]
August 29th, 2008 at 10:21 pm
I think this is a total overreaction on the DNR. I can see a ban on baiting in Kent and the surrounding counties but a ban on the total lower Michigan is not needed. During economic hard times like we are facing now this will only magnify that issue. The DNR is not even certain on how the disease is contracted, they say evidence suggests, that means probably but not for sure. I hunt on public land and its hard enough to see deer let alone see one you can shoot, this makes it almost impossible for non land owners to hunt. DNR says yearly that our deer herd population needs to be lowered but they continue to make it more difficult to harvest them
August 30th, 2008 at 9:54 am
Not baiting in michigan at a time when cwd is apparent is the best thing that can happen to this state. We are one of the most highly populated states in our country for deer. I would hate to see that change just because people are crying about baiting. I was an avid baiter, but now its time to try some new techniques to lure them in. On another note, another issue that would help manage our deer would be to set a higher minimum antler req. for taking a buck. keep the combo liscense as it is for doe in archery, but change for bigger antlered deer. At that point we would see bigger bucks, and a lot more of them! Last year i saw 2 different guys take button bucks and was disgusted because of the potential a button buck has to grow. long story short i watched a documentary on a button buck that after 5 years of age was a 14 pointer. Imagine all the monsters running around then! hopefully we get a different rule for antlered deer, minimum req. 6 or even 8 points) all I.M.O., michigan needs a better deer management system, but for health aspects, they cant do any better than what they are doing right now and i support them 100%
September 2nd, 2008 at 11:51 am
hunter, oops
September 2nd, 2008 at 11:52 am
THIS BAITTING THING IS VERY OVER REACTED. BAITING OR NO BAITING DEER WILL ALWAYS BE IN CONTACT WITH OTHER DEER IN THE WILD. CORN FEILDS, HAY FEILDS, CLOVER, APPLE TREES…THE DNR HAS MISMANAGED (OUR) DEER HERD. THERE ARE TO MANY DEER IN SOME AREAS AND FEW IN OTHERS. DEER WILL GO WHERE THE FOOD IS! IF DEER #1 COMES TO THE APPLE TREE AND EATS HALF AND APPLE AND DEER #2 COMES BY 1HOUR OR 1 DAY LATER AND EATS THE REST OF THE APPLE WHAT IS THE DNR GOING TO DO TO STOP THAT CUT DOWN THE APPLE TREE? SAME THING IN THE CORN FEILD THE CLOVER, FOOD PLOTS ETC. UNTIL THEY FINED CWD IN WILD DEER IN THAT AREA THEY HAD BETTER RETHINK WHAT THEY ARE DOING. I UNDERSTANED THE DNR’S POINT, I JUST DON’T THINK THAT THE DEER IN THE PEN THREW A SPIT BALL AT HIS BUDDY ON THE OUTSIDE. ONE THING IN CLOSING ITS MY LAND DON’T TELL ME HOW TO MANAGE IT UNLESS YOU WOULD LIKE TO TAKE OVER THE FARM!!!
September 11th, 2008 at 2:05 pm
Botton line is we are back to basics with hunting. If you need bait to kill a deer, shame on you. I loved the artical in todays Free Press by Eric Sharp He related it to moving the tee boxes closer because you don’t have time to practice or having to go to a trout pond to land a prize fish. Many hunters don’t spend the time needed scouting and patterning the deer. Can’t rely on putting out huge illegal piles of grub to get close to the deer. Baiting just gives the anti-hunting groups to complain about. DNR finally got one right.
September 14th, 2008 at 8:40 pm
CWD is a challenging issue. How the DNR and State Government reacted is more important. They used the CWD discovery to inact a law they have been pushing for years. They did this without concern for how the public felt, or how it would effect the revenues obtained from baiting and game ranches; but then what’s new in a socialist state. Other states have been dealing with CWD for many years and most of the experts in those states will tell you it is difficult to control, and almost impossible to elliminate. What do we tell the farmers, shop keepers and others that make part or all of their living selling bait? I know, the same thing we tell business owners and tax payers; “We’re the government, we know better and we’re smarter than you”. Once again Michigan officials have impossed another rule that has a negative impact on the people; and without a majority rule. I encourage all hunters to investigate CWD, it’s facts and affects. Start asking our state government questions:
Will Food plots prevent the spread of CWD?
Where did the lone deer in Kent county come from?
If we hunt near an apple tree will we be hunting over bait?
If we plant corn plots is that legal?
What is the DNR’s plan to control or illiminate CWD?
If I sell bait to a hunter am I also in violation of the ban?
How are the 504 deer farms/game ranches going to be managed?
Will fine revenues be allocated strickly for CWD R&D?
This new law isn’t about baiting or not baiting, its about how we allow the DNR and State Government to rule our pastime and our lives. It is another example of how big government has gotten out of hand and is know longer concerned with the well being of its people. II IS AN EXAMPLE OF HOW THEY ARE DRIVEN TO TAKE OR ELLIMINATE OUR MONEY AND CONTROL OUR ACTIONS.
October 22nd, 2008 at 11:30 am