Michigan Residents Can Now Legally Feed Deer in Their Backyards

I'm willing to bet plenty of Michigan residents have been feeding deer in their backyards for years without ever realizing it was actually illegal. Well, that's no longer the case.

A new law now allows people to feed deer and elk for recreational viewing or to help keep animals from starving, as long as they follow a couple of simple rules.

According to Fox2 Detroit, Governor Gretchen Whitmer has signed a new law that allows people to feed deer and elk for recreational viewing or to help keep animals from starving.

What Are the New Rules for Feeding Deer in Michigan?

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There are just two important rules: the feed has to be within 300 feet of your home, and you can't put out more than two gallons at a time.

See Also: MI Man Accused of Killing Dozens of Deer and Leaving Them to Rot

The new law also makes it clear that feeding birds and wildlife around your home isn't the same thing as baiting deer for hunting. They're two completely different things.

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Deer Baiting Is Still Illegal in the Lower Peninsula

Before you get any ideas, this doesn't change Michigan's hunting laws.

Using food to attract deer while hunting is still illegal throughout the Lower Peninsula. That ban remains in place because wildlife officials say baiting causes deer to gather in one spot, making it easier for diseases like chronic wasting disease and bovine tuberculosis to spread.

The Upper Peninsula is different. Hunters there can still use bait during the legal baiting season, which runs from Sept. 15 through Jan. 1.

My neighbors have been feeding deer for years. I never bothered telling them it was technically illegal because, honestly, I didn't really care. Now I can go right on minding my own business.