Advocates for Michigan Wildlife

Say NO to Archery Hunting and Firearm Sharpshooting in Residential Areas!

Say NO to DNR Asking Residents to Allow Hunting and Sharpshooting on Our Private Property, Regardless of Property Size!

In 2021, the Southeast Michigan Urban Deer Coalition was formed, which includes many cities, townships and villages in Oakland, Livingston, Macomb, Monroe, St. Clair, Washtenaw, Wayne, Kent and Ingham Counties. The Coalition cities, including Farmington Hills, Farmington, Southfield, Livonia, Bloomfield Twp, Village of Franklin, Beverly Hills, Ann Arbor, East Lansing and Saugatuck, have been collaborating with and solely relied on the biased and narrow-minded Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) which wrongfully recommended only lethal measures to violently reduce the deer population as the sole solution and not use effective, scientifically proven nonlethal measures to reduce deer conflicts with residents. In its presentation to the Coalition cities, townships and villages, the DNR clearly stated that their objectives are to increase hunter satisfaction, increase hunter numbers and increase opportunities for access to agriculture and urban areas.

Currently, the DNR is developing a statewide policy under which ONLY archery hunting and firearm sharpshooting would be permitted to manage deer and other wildlife populations, whether on land, in water or in the air, across Michigan, including highly populated suburban neighborhoods.

Furthermore, the DNR is asking residents to allow hunting and sharpshooting on our private property, regardless of property size.

These Coalition cities’, townships’ and villages’ policies are pitting neighbors against each other and creating deep divisions within our communities. Imagine your neighboring property owners choose to allow archery hunting and firearm sharpshooting on their properties. Your home would be surrounded by hunters and contractors discharging firearms near your backyard, where your children and pets live, play and spend time outdoors. This raises serious concerns about safety and peace of residential neighborhoods. Is this the kind of environment we want in our subdivisions?

Additionally, these Coalition cities, townships and villages do not conduct an annual deer population count to identify their actual deer population and whether it has been increasing, decreasing or remaining stable.

The Coalition cities, townships and villages did not allow any input from organizations which advocate using effective, science-based, nonlethal measures, such as sterilization. This method has been implemented throughout the country, including Ann Arbor. It has proven to reduce deer vehicle collisions and a deer population long-term. Moreover, sterilization has been approved for implementation in Michigan at a localized scale.

Based on the DNR’s unreasonable advice, the Coalition cities, townships and villages plan is to use firearm sharpshooting and archery hunting at the same time in suburban subdivisions. It is critical to note the DNR supported the elimination of the previous 450-foot safety zone from residential dwellings for archery hunting and firearm sharpshooting culling so there would be fewer limitations in suburban neighborhoods to kill deer.

The 2022 SEMCOG public survey results stated that 73% of residents enjoy seeing the deer. Additionally, Farmington Hills public survey from 2016 concluded that a majority of residents were against the use of archery hunting and firearm sharpshooting to resolve their deer concerns. Despite overwhelming public opposition, community voices were disregarded and city officials continue to ignore the will of the people. Farmington Hills, Southfield, Farmington, East Lansing and Saugatuck have already voted and approved the lethal firearm sharpshooting culling of deer. To do so, they will be suspending a decades-old safety ordinance which prohibits the discharge of weapons and/or hunting in our residential areas and risking the safety of homeowners, children, pets and property damage.

The DNR has never provided a single scientific based study to support its claim that yearly firearm sharpshooting and archery hunting throughout a suburban city landscape will effectively reduce deer conflicts in a community, such as deer vehicle accidents, the incidence of Lyme disease (which is not caused by deer) or landscaping damage.

The DNR admits that yearly firearm sharpshooting and archery hunting will have to be used endlessly, because the surviving female deer will reproduce more fawns, known as the rebound effect, and other deer from surrounding areas will migrate back into the area where the deer slaughtering took place. Moreover, the DNR knowingly has no scientific basis to support its claim that yearly killing deer will effectively reduce a deer population. This is clear because the DNR has had to approve the relentless slaughter of deer in our Metroparks every year for the past 25 years.

YOUR VOICE IS POWERFUL! YOUR VOICE MATTERS!

WE HAVE A SIGNIFICANT RESPONSIBILITY TO EXPOSE THE UNETHICAL DECISIONS MADE BY LOCAL GOVERNMENTS REGARDING OUR DEER AND OTHER WILDLIFE.

WE ARE CRITICALLY URGING YOU TO ATTEND CITY COUNCIL AND BOARD OF TRUSTEE MEETINGS. PLEASE SPEAK UP AND OPPOSE THEIR SENSELESS, INEFFECTIVE SLAUGHTER BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE.

ADDITIONALLY, PLEASE CONTACT GOVERNOR GRETCHEN WHITMER, YOUR STATE SENATOR AND HOUSE REPRESENTATIVE. LET THEM KNOW THAT YOU ONLY SUPPORT SAFE, HUMANE, SCIENCE-BASED AND EFFECTIVE NONLETHAL DEER MANAGEMENT IN OUR RESIDENTIAL AREAS.