Deer have overpopulated several areas in the state, until now the solution was to sterilize the animals. In response to this, a bill has been introduced that would prohibit the sterilization of deer in the state, at least until spring of 2022.
Sportsmen said they should be the first line of defense in bringing down the deer population.
Republican Representative Triston Cole introduced the bill. He said deer can cause real problems when they exceed the carrying capacity of the land.
“Which they’ve done in multiple urban areas across the state of Michigan, that puts an undue burden on the communities, on the property owners, it puts a devastating burden on the environment because the regrowth of foliage does not happen when you have a constant barrage of deer eating it.”
The city of Ann Arbor has had a particularly difficult problem with deer. As the bill stands now, the DNR would be allowed to continue sterilizing there until the permit ends in 2020.
Cole said the bill would also allow more deer kill tags in management areas and would allow communities to adopt firearm hunting distance requirements less than the current 150 yards.
The bill has passed the house and is currently in the Michigan Senate.