Deer are dying along the Clinton River in Oakland County and state officials say they don't know the reason, according to Chicago Tribune.

An estimated 20 such mammals passed away in a period of only three weeks along a six-mile stretch of the river in Bloomer Park, Rochester. Tests performed by the DNR's Wildlife Disease Lab reveal the fact that the animals weren’t suffering from a chronic wasting disease or eastern equine encephalitis, two illnesses widespread in Michigan.

"We don't yet know why the deer are dying," said Mary Dettloff, spokeswoman for the Department of Natural Resources.
Dettloff added that samples from the deer’s tissues have been sent to the Diagnostic Center for Population and Animal Health at Michigan State University for additional tests, in order to find out what killed the animals. 

A chronic wasting disease, resembling mad cow disease, was discovered in a deer in Kent County, Michigan. This is what encouraged the DNR to place a ban on baiting and feeding deer.

The new regulation didn’t please farmers and retailers at all, says Jack Danks, President of the Bridgeport Gun Club and keen hunter. He believes that deer will be the most affected by the ban because "in the long winters now they're used to coming out and getting the food, they know where to go to put the fat on for the winter."

Although hard to abide by the rule, law infringement will entail a citation and more than hundred dollar fine.