Until they take the profit motive out of raising huge bucks for game farms, their operators will continue to ship large deer around for both sale and for breeding. I have spoken with several that operate these things. The money factor is huge. All one needs is a pickup and a horse trailer, regardless of the rules. Like anything, if the profit is there, people will break the law. Furthermore, I know of several huge deer that were shot from said ranches that wondered off after a tree fell on the fence and were later shot off the ranch or farm.
I would feel bad for the people that have these operations as many are quite large and represent a huge investment,
if the state shut them down. However, whats more important, a few people's livelihood or the whole deer hunting economy in Michigan? For those out of state, the "deer hunting economy" in Michigan is huge. The state should just buy them out and then outlaw the practice completely; as it would probably save money in the long run. Just as it wouldn't hurt to eliminate all baiting. I am not saying these actions would cure the problem, but why allow these things that can only make control more difficult. Kind of like Ebola in Africa, when the CDC in their wisdom allowed people from those areas to fly into the US, made no sense whatsoever.
I hunt in Montcalm County east of the latest discovery and we tested 4 of 5 we shot last year. All were negative.
Michigan better get its sheet together or we will all be hunting deer elsewhere.
