The Insurance Alliance of Michigan and the Michigan United Conservation Clubs have reported a higher-than-average amount of vehicle accidents involving deer in Michigan.
Michigan DNR Acting Deer Specialist Chad Fedewa says the deer population in Southeast Michigan has been on the rise for the past decade. Fedewa says there are several factors contributing to this, such as younger generations not hunting as much as baby boomers and the lack of natural predators.
“Some are those impacts are negative impacts to forest regeneration, a lot of agricultural damage, and car-deer accidents. So, when you have lot of deer on the landscape and a lot of vehicles, particularly in southern Michigan with higher human populations, that often isn’t a really good mix.”
He adds the consequence of these deficiencies are that deer are causing more damage than just vehicle accidents.
Fedewa says drivers who cannot avoid a deer in time should not veer from them because doing so can lead to worse accidents.
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