LANSING, MI — Michigan Republicans renewed their push to legalize deer baiting in the Lower Peninsula this week, arguing the state’s long-standing ban is failing to control an expanding deer herd that’s hammering crops and driving up car crashes.

On Dec. 10, the state House natural resources committee heard testimony on HB 4445 , sponsored by Rep. Jennifer Wortz, R-Hillsdale, which would overturn a baiting ban first established in 2008 and allow hunters to place deer and elk bait during hunting seasons.

The bill would bar the state Natural Resources Commission from issuing a blanket prohibition on baiting, though the commission could still regulate how baiting occurs.

Wortz said the Lower Peninsula is being overrun by deer and is losing ground because hunters are taking far fewer anim

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