Ray Cover wrote: The Game Warden can inspect your freezer and if he finds parts for more deer than you had a filled and checked tag for the previous season you can be fined or worse.
I have heard something similar, but I think they would need just cause for that. Like if they caught you poaching, as in in the act of doing it or with an untagged animal, or someone reported it, even then they would need a warrant. I would think this would be hard to prove as well, for example, I have 3 deer in my freezer one I got, one my roommate got, and one his dad got. They are packaged and not labeled, except what cut it is, so how would one tell what animal they came from? Also how do they know if you filled your tag or not? I have bought far more tags than I have filled, and never had to report a filled tag. I'm not saying what you said is wrong because I have heard the exact same thing, it just seems improbable unless you are doing something illegal, and caught. Even then I think it would be a hard stretch to prove someone poached a deer that's already in the freezer. This of course is just my experience in my state. You are absolutely right about being required to tag any deer that is being transported, road kill or otherwise.
I have a friend who hit a deer with his van. Got out to check the damage and there were 2 dead deer, both had broken necks, but otherwise ok. One was standing directly behind the one he hit and the force of the impact drove one into the other killing both. He called the DNR to get a tag and the officer showed up, looked at the van and gave him 1 tag. He said wait there are 2 of them. The officer didn't believe him that he hit them both and refused to give him a second tag. My friend made a compelling case, they are both still warm and the same temp, if I didn't hit it where did it come from? This was off a very rural road with no other traffic to be seen. Officer shrugged his shoulders and said I'm only giving you one tag, got in his truck and left. My friend is very firm in his belief of using any animal you take the life of, and also an ex-marine and not very comfortable with breaking the law. He deliberated for a few then threw them both in the van, tore the tag in half and tagged them both. Not exactly legal but IMO the right thing to do.
For MI only
**Edit
Copy and paste 324.1602 Department or officer; prosecution; search without warrant; private property; definition; common carrier not liable; issuance of warrant; seizures; probable cause.
Sec. 1602.
"Whenever an officer appointed by the department has probable cause to believe that any of the statutes or laws mentioned in section 1601 have been or are being violated by any particular person, the officer has the power to search, without warrant, any boat, conveyance, vehicle, automobile, fish box, fish basket, game bag, game coat, or any other receptacle or place, except dwellings or dwelling houses, or within the curtilage of any dwelling house"
So it would appear they can search everywhere except in the dwelling and the immediate area around the dwelling, curtilage.
