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  • WSYM FOX 47

    Michigan DNR speaks about overpopulation ahead of early antlerless weekend

    By Russell Shellberg,

    7 days ago
    https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=3Lk5DX_0vcorihd00
    • Antlerless deer season starts this weekend.
    • DNR deer specialist Chad Fedewa says that these early hunts help to regulate the deer population.
    • Video shows Fedewa speaking about the early season, safety, and other key points when it comes to hunting.

    (The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)

    It's time to dust off the orange vests. I'm your DeWitt neighborhood reporter, Russell Shellberg, with deer numbers: why the DNR says an early hunt is needed and how our neighbors can keep themselves safe this weekend.

    "In much of southern Michigan, we have a lot of areas that have too many deer," said Fedewa.

    https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=4I9pYu_0vcorihd00

    Too many deer, and not enough hunters...

    "It's been steadily declining one to two percent every year," said Fedewa.

    Fedewa says the number of hunters has dropped to about 600,000 and is likely to fall another 100,000 in a decade due to a lack of interest among youth.

    Putting it all together, DNR Acting Deer Specialist Chad Fedewa says we are reaching social capacity...

    "How many deer can people tolerate? So when you have a lot of deer in an area, they start to have negative impacts on the environment," said Fedewa.

    https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0S6xMi_0vcorihd00

    Those impacts include reduced forest regeneration, reduced native plant communities, reduced biodiversity, agricultural damage, and an increase in car-deer accidents. Fedewa also adds neighbors may see fewer deer in specific hunting areas due to a new virus...

    "In 2024, we have been seeing an outbreak of Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHD) in some counties, particularly in southwest Michigan. We're starting to get some reports into the west side of the state as well," said Fedewa.

    https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=1AEwIf_0vcorihd00

    Fedewa told me deer that contract this disease only last a couple of days, but the ones that survive it are still safe to consume if killed by hunters. And for those heading out this weekend...

    "Firearm pointed in a safe direction, treat every firearm like it's loaded. Know your backdrop and know what's behind it before you take a shot, and know where others are hunting. All basic things, but they go a long way in keeping everyone safe," said Fedewa.

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    Comments / 30
    Add a Comment
    1776
    3d ago
    It doesn’t help when the DNR sells off land for hunting purposes and make the land unavailable for to hunting and makes the decision to rise the cost of hunting tags and make it More of a problem than most people want to deal with they by a hunting tag for the game for them to say there are diseases to make it impossible to bait to bring them in but that same animal that you would be baiting is eating off the same branch, licking the same ground drinking out of the same water eating off of the same corn stocks, but baiting is the problemHumm
    Myles Murphy
    5d ago
    increase the number of antlerless permits since bucks are unable to give birth .by doing that the number of deer will be lowered
    View all comments
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