Beginning in March, Michigan hunters will have the option to use electronic kill tags for certain animals. The Natural Resources Commission voted earlier this month to allow optional electronic kill tags for deer, bear, fish, marten, otter, and bobcat.
According to a DNR Wildlife Conservation Order Amendment, the change was because of potential inconveniences to hunters and expenses of paper, hardware, and agent support.
Tom Weston is the Chief Technology Officer for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. He said the DNR's Hunt Fish app allowed hunters to buy electronic licenses starting in 2022. But the department still had to mail kill tags.
“It's taken the post office, you know, up to 10 to 15 days sometimes to get that actual kill tag to their home,” Weston said. So, a pilot program for turkeys was rolled out in 2024.
Weston said last spring the DNR sold 16,000 electronic turkey kill tags for hunters harvesting their turkey.
The process is straightforward, Weston continued. Hunters login to the app and validate their kill by answering a few questions. They’ll have to specify the date of harvest, the sex of the animal, and if it’s a deer, right and left antler points.
“A lot of folks have been asking for this,” Weston said. “There's, gosh, 25 states that are doing this now. And so for the license year 2026, which starts March 1st, customers will be able to buy their deer licenses, their bear licenses, and their fur harvesting licenses on the app.”
Weston said hunters hunting in remote areas will still be able to validate their electronic kill tags, because they can be uploaded offline. “All we ask is that hunters write their license number on some durable material and attach it to the animal,” he said.
Weston said there’s one animal that they’re not allowing an e-harvest tag for: elk. He said it’s because they only give out a few hundred of those licenses.
According to the DNR amendment, having the option of the electronic kill tag modernizes and streamlines the tagging process for hunters, and it may increase participation across Michigan.
