AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — Maine’s season for chasing black bears with hounds is getting started as the autumn hunt for the big animals reaches full swing.

Hunting bears with dogs, sometimes called “hounding,” begins on Monday and lasts until Oct. 30. It is the second-most popular method of hunting bears, after baiting. Baiting for bears is by far the most common method of hunting bears in Maine.

Baiting, hounding and hunting bears with traps were all the subject of a failed referendum last year. Activists hoped to ban all three methods of hunting but voters rejected the idea in November.

The general hunting season for bears began Aug. 31 and ends Nov. 28. The season for hunting with bait began Aug. 31 and ends on Sept. 26.