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New rule requires Michigan deer hunters to report harvest within 72 hours

Flickr - ON THE MOON STUDIO

With deer hunting season underway, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources now requires hunters to report their harvest electronically within 72 hours.

Tom Weston, chief technology officer at the Michigan DNR said in previous seasons, they would send out paper surveys to hunters to get an estimate of deer harvests.

Over the last two years, Weston said the response rate dropped to roughly 30% but this year, the rate of reports has increased drastically.

Because of this, the DNR is moving towards tracking deer harvest through online surveys, Weston said.

“It’s just really nice to see that the hunters are complying with this and this will really help us better understand the harvest population,” Weston said.

As of Monday, there have been 77,964 reported deer harvests in Michigan this year.

To successfully report a deer harvest, Weston said hunters must attach a paper kill tag to the deer, and submit a report either online at the DNR’s website, or through the Michigan DNR Hunt Fish mobile app.

Weston adds hunters who do not report their deer this season within 72 hours will not get ticketed.

“The conversation officer will really just educate them about the process and if they have the time they’ll show them how to do it,” Weston said.

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