MAINE Bear-bait vote sparks interest around the US

Associated Press

WILTON, MAINE

In Maine, a hunter can shoot a bear while it’s nose-deep in a barrel of doughnuts, after it’s been chased up a tree by dogs, or when it’s snared in a cable trap — but that could change in just a few days.

Hunters and animal- rights advocates around the country are watching the fight over bear hunting tactics in Maine, the only one of 32 states that allows all three methods — bait, dogs and traps — targeted by a Nov. 4 ballot proposal.

National hunting groups oppose the ban because they believe it could set a precedent that prompts states to try to roll back hunting rights. Some animal-rights activists see it as a dress rehearsal for referendums in other states that allow hunting methods they perceive as cruel.

The referendum has prompted a spirited fight within the state, where proponents of the ban say the food habituates bears to humans, which can lead to dangerous encounters. They also decry the three methods as unsportsmanlike. But opponents say the methods are necessary to control Maine’s growing bear population, which has risen to about 30,000, up about 30 percent from 10 years ago.

Campaigns supporting and opposing the ban have both raised more than $1 million. The Ohio-based U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance has donated more than $100,000 to Save Maine’s Bear Hunt, which seeks to defeat the referendum, said Evan Heusinkveld, a spokesman for the group.

State wildlife biologists also oppose the ban and have campaigned against it. Maine wildlife division director Judy Camuso said passage of the ban would mean a larger bear population that would create more competition for resources.