A moratorium on the sterilization of wild game species in Michigan is now in effect, after Governor Snyder signed House Bill 5321 this month. Four years from now, the DNR, NRC, and stakeholders will have analyzed available data in an effort to determine if sterilization is an effective method to manage an over-population of deer based on outcomes from Ann Arbor’s current test project.
The bill would amend Part 401 (Wildlife Conservation) of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act to prohibit the Department of Natural Resources, until April 1, 2022, from issuing a permit authorizing the sterilization of game.
The bill also would require the Department to submit, to the standing committees of the Senate and House of Representatives with primary responsibility for natural resources issues, two reports on the results of research under any permit authorizing the sterilization of game issued before the bill’s effective date. A preliminary report would have to be submitted by December 31, 2020, and a final report by March 31, 2022. The reports would have to include any recommendations for legislation, including whether and how sterilization of deer should be authorized as a manner of taking game.
The bill would allow the Natural Resources Commission to establish, in or adjacent to urban areas with a high concentration of deer, special deer management zones for which a higher number of deer kill tags would be issued.
The bill also would allow the legislative body of a municipality, by ordinance, to adopt a firearm hunting distance requirement shorter than the 150-yard requirement under Section 40111, as part of a deer management plan. The 150-yard requirement would not apply in circumstances addressed by the ordinance. (Section 40111 prohibits an individual from hunting with a firearm within 150 yards of an occupied building, dwelling, house, residence, or cabin, or any barn or other building used in connection with a farm operation, without obtaining the written permission of the owner, renter, or occupant of the property.)
Michigan United Conservation Clubs (MUCC) Deputy Director Amy Trotter said this is a victory for sportsmen and women across the state. “MUCC firmly believes that the proper management of game species in Michigan belongs to its citizens who pay, through licensing dollars and other methods, to manage these species,” Trotter said. “We have worked this bill hard since its inception, and the passage of this bill to the governor’s desk is a testament to the grassroots process and engagement that MUCC brings to the table.”
The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) has been pushing communities and state agencies around the country to adopt sterilization as a way to prevent urban bow hunting or future culling to manage deer. The DNR approved this permit under the guise of “research” with no input from the public and it actually runs counter to the DNR’s own approved urban deer management policy.
The current Ann Arbor permit appears to be an attempt to satisfy anti-hunting and anti-culling stakeholders – always the common denominator with HSUS, which has pushed the sterilization and fertility control efforts in Ann Arbor and elsewhere.
Four years from now, we’ll have the opportunity to determine if factual results matter.
