Is It a Felony to Feed Deer in Michigan
March has always been the longest month.
If you're looking for something to do while the north wind howls down the St. Clair River and you count the days until spring turkey season, go to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources' new website.
After you spend a couple of hours sorting out the new navigation — it's probably better, but I had spent a lot of time navigating the old site — it is always amusing to read the conservation officers' reports.
It sort of affirms my appreciation for all that is well and good in the world. That's because violators are all so dumb and typically confess so willingly to poaching the fish and game that belong to all of us.
On Nov. 16, for instance, conservation officers, acting on a tip, went to a house in Wexford County where they found several people and a six-point buck hanging in the garage. Attached to the buck was a kill tag punched out for Nov. 16. The only problem for the people in the house was that the tag was purchased after legal shooting hours on Nov. 16.
In other words, the deer was taken illegally. Violators aren't smart enough to realize the license system's computer knows when licenses are purchased.
The poacher, as usual, confessed. When he was done, another man confessed to driving on a suspended license, having two loaded and uncased firearms in his car, and shooting a buck with a rifle.
The good part is that he's probably going to prison for being a felon in illegal possession of a firearm.
The bad part is that the DNR could probably prevent felons from carrying firearms during hunting seasons but doesn't.
The same compilation of logs that includes the Wexford County arrest has five other arrests of felons in illegal possession of firearms.
- Conservation Officer Bobby Watson checked the local American Legion buck pole and found a four-pointer illegally tagged with a restricted license. After contacting the violator, officers found not only was he was a felon in possession of a firearm, the particular firearm was stolen.
- Officer Andrea Albert checked some violators on private property in Antrim County. None of the three were wearing hunting orange, all three were high on marijuana, and the felon illegally in possession of a firearm was also in possession of marijuana.
- Sgt. Mark DePew ran into a similar situation in Otsego County. One hunter was arrested for hunting while intoxicated and a second was arrested because he was a felon in possession of a firearm.
- In Mason County, officers were checking on an illegal bait pile when they caught two violators dragging two untagged antlerless deer to their truck. The list of violations is long and includes an arrest for a felon in possession.
- And my favorite, officers responding to a complaint of convicted felon hunting with a firearm found the first buck he shot opening day. When they looked for him, they found him on the ground with a broken leg. While attempting to flee the conservation officers, he fell out of his tree stand and broke his leg. He went to the hospital and then to jail.
So why are all these felons running around the woods with guns? It's because the DNR lets them. Unlike some other states, Michigan doesn't check the criminal backgrounds of people purchasing hunting licenses.
Illogical as it sounds, someone in Michigan who can't legally possess a firearm can get a license to go hunting with a firearm. If they get caught — dumb violators are good at getting caught — they go to jail.
But Michigan's computerized license system only knows if a license applicant has violated game and fish regulations. Someone convicted of an offense against game or fish can't buy a license.
It does not check for other convictions, though. So someone convicted of a felony offense against a person can get a license.
Lansing ought to fix that.
Contact Michael Eckert at meckert@gannett.com, (810) 989-6264, on Facebook @michaeleckert or on Twitter @michaeleckert.
Source: https://www.thetimesherald.com/story/sports/2018/03/22/michigan-loophole-lets-felons-hunt-even-though-they-cant/450967002/
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