LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) — Michigan lawmakers are once again debating whether deer should be lured with corn or governed by science.

The Michigan House advanced a bill that would lift the baiting ban put in place in 2018 to slow the spread of chronic wasting disease (CWD), a fatal neurological illness confirmed in 16 Lower Peninsula counties.

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State wildlife officials imposed the baiting restriction out of concern that feeding sites draw deer into close quarters, raising the risk of disease spread. While the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) says it is open to revisiting the ban, officials prefer any changes come through the Natural Resources Commission, not the Legislature.

“There’s just that extra layer of protection in terms of what they put forward through a wildlife conservation order,” DNR chief of staff Taylor Ridderbusch said, pointing to the commission’s science-based process.

Still, backers of the bill argue the ban hasn’t worked. Rep. Jennifer Wortz (R-Quincy), the bill’s sponsor, said deer continue to congregate naturally and that overpopulation has fueled crop damage and vehicle crashes.

“This week on a drive to Hillsdale, my husband and I counted more than 30 deer feeding together in a single field,” Woryz said.

Wildlife researchers counter that baiting concentrates deer more tightly than natural feeding, increasing disease risk, and studies show it does not significantly improve harvest success.

The bill advances to the Senate without carve-outs for CWD zones.