November 8, 2008
Michigan officials are using aerial surveys to enforce a ban on baiting
deer in Kent County, where the state's first case of chronic wasting
disease was detected in August.
The state Department of Natural Resources prohibited baiting and
feeding across the Lower Peninsula to prevent deer from eating at the
same spot and limit possible spread of the fatal disease.
The Grand Rapids Press reported recently on the aerial surveys.
Staff
biologists say if the fatal disease enters the wild deer herd, it could
decimate the population and the hunting tradition for decades. The only
known case thus far was detected in a deer raised on an Algoma Township
farm.
Defying the baiting ban can bring a fine of up to $500. But some are doing it anyway.