Antlerless Deer Hunting License Applications On Sale Starting Today

Applications for antlerless deer hunting licenses went on sale today at all license agents and online at www.michigan.gov/huntdrawings.

Applications, which remain on sale through Aug. 15, are $4. Hunters may apply for just one antlerless license for public land or private land. After the drawing, remaining antlerless licenses may be purchased beginning Sept. 6 at 10 a.m.

Licenses will be sold until the quotas are met. The season purchase limit for antlerless deer licenses has increased to five statewide, except for Deer Management Units (DMU) 486 and 487, which have no season limit.

In all, 756,200 antlerless deer licenses will be available in 2011 – a decrease from 776,500 available last year. Statewide, public land licenses increased slightly while private land licenses decreased.

In southern Michigan, the number of available antlerless licenses has decreased and Kent County (Deer Management Unit 041) is now part of the larger multi-county DMU 486. All private-land licenses for DMU 486 - which includes all but four counties in southern Michigan - may be used within any county in the DMU.

Baiting and feeding in limited quantities is now allowed statewide, except for DMU 487, where a total ban remains in effect due to the presence of bovine tuberculosis among deer in that region. Baiting is allowed from Oct. 1 to Jan. 1.

Hunters may place no more than two gallons of bait scattered across a minimum 10-foot by 10-foot area. The DNR requests that hunters not place bait repeatedly at the same point on the ground and only place bait out when actively hunting. This may minimize the chance of direct and indirect exposure of deer to any diseases that may be present.

Source: Michigan Department of Natural Resources