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I encourage everyone that cares about the Michigan White-Tailed Deer to familiarize themselves with the information on this website. However if your time is limited this page will give you a good understanding about culls.

More than 98% of Michigan communities do not allow White-Tailed Deer culls within their corporate boundaries and for good reason. Culls are Useless, Dangerous and Expensive.

The justification for urban culls are always spread of disease, overpopulation and damage to property. So lets examine each of these. The diseases most commonly cited are Lyme Disease, Chronic Wasting Disease, and Bovine Tuberculosis.

There is a lot more detailed information about everything on this page elsewhere on this website but this sums it up. 

•  Lyme Disease Facts:

  • The White Tailed Deer is immune to the Lyme disease and consequently cannot spread the disease. This argument is much the same as many other misinformation campaigns where the facts are twisted to fit the desired narrative.

  • In Michigan, Lyme disease is only an emerging concern. It is transmitted by the blacklegged tick, and the local risk varies depending on whether infected ticks are present in the area. Let’s delve into the details: Michigan has a historically low incidence of Lyme disease with an average of about five (5) cases reported per county per year. Hardly an epidemic.

•  Chronic Wasting Disease Facts:

  • Most Counties in Michigan have never had a case of Chronic Wasting Disease.

  • According to the CDC and the World Health Organization Domestic Animals and Humans can not contract CWD. Only deer have this disease.

  • The DNR tested over 10,000 deer in 2022 and found under 20 cases of CWD and almost all of them were in farm raised deer in south east Michigan.

•  Bovine Tuberculosis:

  • Historically, bovine TB was rare in wild deer. Prior to 1994, only eight wild white-tailed and mule deer were reported with bovine TB in North America. However, since then, Michigan has been vigilant in monitoring deer populations.

  • The actual cases reported in the White-Tailed Deer population is so small that it is difficult to say there are any. This entire cases looks to be a red hearing scare tactic. We are not against exercising caution regarding this disease just do not fraudulently use it as an excuse for deer culls.

• Overpopulation: Read the effect this has on urban cull success here.

  • The deer population cannot be accurately calculated because there are too many variables that must be assumed.

  • The only way to get an accurate count is a fly over using infrared cameras.

  • Communities like Grand Haven that have done this found that claims of over 300 deer in the city turned out to be less than 50.

  • If overpopulation extends beyond the urban cull area, such as the county or state it guarantees an urban cull will fail.

• Culls are useless because:

  • They do not permanently reduce the urban population of deer.

  • As a population is reduced by culling the reproductively of the deer goes up.

  • Reducing the population in a relatively small area like most Michigan urban areas results in increased forage which in turns draws more deer to the area.

  • The cull activity causes the few remaining predators in the area like coyotes, bob cats and black bears to leave.

• Culls are dangerous because:

  • There is no way to fire high powered rifles in an urban area with risks. Michigan has laws against this but the DNR and its USDA henchmen do not obey these laws.

  • I have read articles written by USDA sharpshooters expressing these fears. So the risk is real even with professional shooters.

• Culls are expensive because:

  • There are no guaranteed results.

  • Each shooting session cost about $6,500.00 and that is the same if only one deer is taken

  • There are many hidden costs, like the many possible negative effects on the community especially the ecology and the children. 

•  Damage to property:

  • Deer are not the only wildlife that can damage, "if you want to call it that" your yard. The squirrels, skunks, rabbits, raccoons and  possums can do a good job of that also. Should we kill all of them!

  • A little effort by people that are too cheap or lazy to protect their own yard can solve the problem.

  • A motioned censored sprinkler  and a little repellant spay will keep deer out of your yard. Not so much the other critters.