LANSING (WKZO-AM/FM) — Legislators have set aside $1 million in Michigan’s 2018 budget to study chronic wasting disease in the state’s deer population.
There have been limited reports of the fatal neurological condition in central Michigan, but numbers are high in Canada, the western plains, Wisconsin and Illinois.
Rep. Sue Allor is a Republican from the northern Michigan town of Wolverine.
“Deer are big up there,” Allor said. “It’s big for our tourism industry and the people who live there.”
She said it’s a small investment to protect hunting.
“We’ve got to stop this before it takes over,” Allor said. “This is something that can’t be ignored.”
Hunting contributes $2.3 billion to Michigan’s economy annually, according to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
