Michigan's Deer Baiting Ban: Where Things Stand and What Could Change

Michigan hunters have been debating the deer baiting ban since it went into effect in 2019. In 2026, that debate moved from campfire arguments into the state Legislature, and the outcome could change how hunters in the Lower Peninsula set up for deer season as soon as next year.

The Current Rule

Deer baiting has been banned in Michigan's Lower Peninsula since 2019. The Michigan Natural Resources Commission enacted the order in 2018 and it took effect in 2019, with the goal of slowing the spread of chronic wasting disease. The thinking was straightforward: deer crowding around bait piles come into closer contact with each other, and closer contact spreads disease faster.

The Upper Peninsula operates under different rules. Baiting is allowed there with restrictions, reflecting the lower prevalence of CWD in that region. In the Lower Peninsula, limited exceptions exist for certain special hunts, including those for youth, blind, and disabled hunters.

The current penalty for baiting in the Lower Peninsula is a 90-day misdemeanor with a fine between $50 and $500.

What the Legislature Just Did

On February 4, 2026, the Republican-controlled Michigan House passed House Bill 4445 by a vote of 66 to 38, with bipartisan support including ten Democrats. The bill would lift the baiting ban across the Lower Peninsula entirely, with no exceptions carved out for counties where CWD has already been detected.

The bill was referred to the Michigan Senate Committee on Natural Resources and Agriculture on February 11, 2026. It has not been scheduled for a Senate floor vote as of this writing.

What the DNR Says

The Michigan DNR has opposed HB 4445 directly. But the department's position is more nuanced than a flat no.

Taylor Ridderbusch, the DNR's chief of staff, said the department is "certainly open to that discussion." The objection is less about the outcome and more about the process. The DNR wants any change to the baiting rules to come through the Natural Resources Commission rather than the Legislature.

"The Natural Resources Commission is charged with using sound scientific management when they're creating regulations," Ridderbusch said. "There's just that extra layer of protection in terms of what they put forward through a wildlife conservation order as opposed to what the Legislature is bound to when they are considering legislation."

That's a meaningful distinction. NRC decisions are bound by science and wildlife management principles. Legislative decisions are bound by votes.

The Science Behind the Ban

Wildlife disease researchers have consistently said that baiting increases CWD transmission risk by concentrating deer in smaller spaces.

A 2025 study from Michigan State University and the DNR looked at how deer behave at bait sites compared to food plots and natural landscape. Researchers found deer gather more densely at bait piles than in either of the other two settings. More deer in tighter proximity means more opportunity for disease to pass between animals.

Michigan recorded 41 confirmed CWD cases in 2025. That's less than 2 percent of total tested cases, but the disease has no cure and no vaccine. Once it's in a herd, wildlife managers have limited tools to contain it.

The researchers acknowledged that an outright ban on baiting probably won't stop CWD from spreading. But it can slow the spread, which buys time for scientists working on management solutions.

The Arguments Against the Ban

The case for lifting the ban starts with a question hunters have been asking for years: if the ban was working, where's the evidence?

CWD has continued to spread in Michigan since 2019 despite the restrictions. Critics point out that deer congregate naturally, bait pile or not, and that singling out hunting-related feeding as the primary transmission vector doesn't hold up against the reality of how deer actually move and interact.

There are also enforcement problems. The ban is difficult to police across millions of acres of private and public land, and violations are common enough that the rule has lost practical authority in some areas.

Hunters also point to contradictions in the regulatory framework. Rep. Jennifer Wortz, the bill's sponsor, raised one on the House floor: antler point restrictions protect young bucks from harvest, but older bucks are believed to have higher CWD prevalence. Protecting deer that are more likely to carry the disease while restricting a feeding practice that may have marginal transmission impact strikes many hunters as inconsistent management.

The Backstory Worth Knowing

The political dynamics around this issue have a peculiar backstory.

A Michigan hunter became the center of a viral incident when his backyard bird feeder spilled seed on the ground and deer were filmed eating it. The DNR ticketed him for violating the baiting ban. He fought the case for years, ultimately winning legislative changes to the law in the process. He now chairs the House appropriations committee that oversees the DNR's budget.

That context doesn't change the science, but it does help explain why the relationship between the Legislature and the DNR on this issue carries some tension.

What Happens Next

HB 4445 heads to the Michigan Senate. With Democrats controlling that chamber, the bill faces a harder road than it had in the House. The DNR is hoping the NRC takes up a modified proposal before the Senate acts, which could give the department more control over what any change actually looks like.

The NRC is already dealing with the one-buck rule proposal, which is scheduled for a vote on May 13. Whether the commission takes up the baiting question on a similar timeline is not yet clear.

For Michigan hunters, the short answer is: nothing changes for the 2026 season. The ban remains in effect in the Lower Peninsula. If HB 4445 passes the Senate and gets signed into law, or if the NRC issues a new order, that would apply to future seasons.

We'll follow this as it develops.

The Current Rules at a Glance

Lower Peninsula: Baiting banned. Limited exceptions for certain special hunts. Penalty: 90-day misdemeanor, $50 to $500 fine.

Upper Peninsula: Baiting allowed with restrictions. Feed is limited to two gallons per residence per calendar day. Feed must be scattered on the ground and located at least 100 yards from any dwelling not owned by the hunter, and at least 100 yards from areas accessible to livestock or captive cervidae. Supplemental feeding may not begin before January 1 or extend past May 15.

For the complete current rules, see the DNR's baiting and feeding page.