Advocates for Michigan Wildlife

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

In 2021, the Southeast Michigan Urban Deer Coalition was formed, which includes many cities in Oakland, Wayne, Washtenaw, Kent and Ingham Counties. The Coalition cities 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 nonlethal measures to reduce deer conflicts with residents. In its presentation to the Coalition, the DNR clearly stated that their objectives are: “Increasing hunter satisfaction”, Increasing hunter numbers” and “Increasing opportunities for access to agriculture and urban areas”.

The Coalition did not allow any input from organizations which advocate using effective, science-based, nonlethal measures. Based on the DNR’s unreasonable advice, the Coalition cities plan is to use firearm sharpshooting and archery hunting at the same time in suburban/urban areas. 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. Furthermore, 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 ignored the will of the people. Farmington Hills, Southfield and Farmington have already voted and approved the lethal 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 no scientific basis 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.

WE ARE URGING YOU TO PLEASE SPEAK UP AND OPPOSE THEIR SENSELESS, INEFFECTIVE SLAUGHTER BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE.

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.