From the TC Record-Eagle:
TRAVERSE CITY — Some Michigan politicians want to lift a ban on using bait to lure deer during hunting season in lower Michigan.
State officials banned baiting over fears it could help spread a deadly deer disease, but politicians who oppose the restriction said those who grow and sell bait crops could suffer financially.
State Sen. James Barcia, D-Bay City, plus state Reps. Joel Sheltrown, D-West Branch, and Jeff Mayes, D-Bay City, sponsored similar resolutions in the Michigan legislature this week to urge state officials to rescind a ban enacted after a deer at a private ranch in Kent County tested positive last month for chronic wasting disease.
The politicians contend state officials overreacted.
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Not everyone agrees.
The Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians supports the baiting ban. Michigan’s wild deer herd is a valuable natural resource for the public and the tribe, said Hank Bailey, a tribal fish and wildlife technician and elder tribe member.
“If they bow to this, they are jeopardizing that resource,” Bailey said, adding he fully expected politicians to meddle in the decision.
Turtle Talk 