In November, voting Mainers will have an opportunity to right a terrible wrong that has been permitted in the state for too long. Bear “hunting” has become anything but. With Maine’s baiting, trapping and hounding, the sport has become a lazy pastime. Put a barrel of doughnuts out, slap your name on a blind and […]
bear hunting
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Maine DIF&W says bear baiting, trapping necessary to control population
With the referendum to ban bear baiting, trapping and hounding planned for the Nov. 4 ballot, the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife is trying to educate the public about the state’s current bear management program and bear hunting practices. In a press release on Wednesday, the department said that the bear harvest will […]
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Posted inLetters
A.Girouard: What chance do bears have?
This is in response to Charles Rappaport’s letter (June 1) “You can have your own bears.” I knew before I completed the first four lines that a male wrote it. I would take all the bears and put them on my land; they would be better off than be out there when people shoot at […]
Posted inLetters
C. Rappaport: You can have your own bears
If the anti-bear hunting referendum that has been proposed passes, there could be a significant increase in the bear population in Maine. That population has been stable since at least the 1950s with continued hunting over bait and with dogs. The increase in bear population would result in a lot of hungry bears, as there […]
Posted inMaine
Bear control is a matter of numbers, say both sides
What would happen if the referendum passed? And how do some states control bears without using the techniques some here abhor? Randy Cross has been Maine’s chief bear biologist for more than 30 years. If the referendum passes this time, he foresees an immediate increase in the number of bears, one that’s likely to also […]
Posted inLetters
K. Scribner: No better way to control bears
This is in response to Patricia Keene’s letter (March 25). People have been baiting bears for decades. Back in the 50s, 60s and 70s, we called them garbage dumps. Now that the bear population is under control, the people of the Humane Society of the United States want to step in and change things. That’s […]
Posted inLetters
G. Trisch: State biologists know best
This is in response to Patricia Keene’s letter, March 25, about banning current methods of bear hunting. With regard to bear baiting — bears eat their natural food first. I have pictures of bears coming near bait but not touching it. The methods used by hunters in the great state of Maine to hunt bears […]
Posted inLetters
K. Scribner: Leave bear management to the pros
Recently, I attended a meeting of the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine’s Fish and Game Club Network at SAM’s office in Augusta. Present were Judith Camuso, wildlife division director, and game warden Major Christopher Cloutier. They explained how the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife captures bears, takes measurements, weights, and checks to see if […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Coalition forms to defend bear hunting practices
AUGUSTA — Weeks after animal rights groups announced that they would seek a referendum that would ban hunting bears with hounds, traps or over bait, those who support the state’s bear hunting status quo unveiled their own coalition on Monday during a press conference outside the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife office. All three official […]
Posted inOp-Eds
Ellie Espling: Extremist national organization backs anti-hunting referendum
By Rep. Ellie Espling By now, most people have probably heard that there is an effort afoot to pass a referendum at the polls next November that would dismantle Maine’s longstanding bear-management policies. What people may not have heard is the unnerving truth about the organization behind that ill-conceived effort, as well as some of […]