Bear baiting: yes or no? (Portland, Bar Harbor: live, legal, license)

[CoastalMaineiac]

I'm leaning toward a no vote on the referendum, partly because, IIRC, this has come around once before. But I haven't totally made up my mind.

But I'm not a hunter, so I was hoping to get some opinions from the people who do hunt before I make my decision on how I vote.

[Driller1]

Originally Posted by CoastalMaineiac

I'm leaning toward a no vote on the referendum, partly because, IIRC, this has come around once before. But I haven't totally made up my mind.

But I'm not a hunter, so I was hoping to get some opinions from the people who do hunt before I make my decision on how I vote.

First.....I am in Michigan and will not be voting.

But, I would vote yes.

Baiting is one way to control the bear population.

The hunter can better judge the size and sex of the bear........thus, killing the bear they have a license to kill.

When the bears are at the bait.......they are not in your trash can or, on the road.

[kellysmith]

The groups fighting for the "Yes" vote has raised $1.4 million. Of that sum, $17,991 has actually been donated my Maine residents. 96% of the "yes" money has come from the DC area. I think that tells you what Mainers think. Out of state interests trying to push an agenda on the people of Maine, that's how I see it. Numbers are from an article in the Portland Press Herald.

[Driller1]

Originally Posted by kellysmith

The groups fighting for the "Yes" vote has raised $1.4 million. Of that sum, $17,991 has actually been donated my Maine residents. 96% of the "yes" money has come from the DC area. I think that tells you what Mainers think. Out of state interests trying to push an agenda on the people of Maine, that's how I see it. Numbers are from an article in the Portland Press Herald.

We ordered some things from Double U.

When they came.....there was a card about bear hunting in Maine....of, course they wanted money.

I sent them $100.

[arctichomesteader]

Originally Posted by Driller1

First.....I am in Michigan and will not be voting.

But, I would vote yes.

Baiting is one way to control the bear population.

The hunter can better judge the size and sex of the bear........thus, killing the bear they have a license to kill.

When the bears are at the bait.......they are not in your trash can or, on the road.

The referendum is to outlaw it, so a yes vote is for a ban, a no vote keeps the current hunting rules that allow bait.

I agree with what you say though, bait gives a hunter a chance to see what they have in front of them. The forests in Maine are incredibly dense.

[Kracer]

In the thick woods of Maine where you can die and not fall to the ground, baiting is a good idea.

Bear were classified as vermin in ME up into the late 60s/70s?? Healthy population for sure.

Lot of critters there and baiting is one way to selectively take individual animals. Killing a yearling is often disappointing when you get up close.

You can hang out in the woods for a month and hardly see any critters, let alone a bear. Cool to take a bear while deer hunting though. At a distance it might be pot luck as to the bear's age and size.

I generally do not like baiting animals, deer especially, as is legal in some states. Baiting really makes hunters more possesive and territorial than normal. Deer baiting could concentrate deer and spread disease and depending where you are, could cause local tree and crop damage do to the concentration of deer.

Bear baiting is different in the wilds of Maine and essential as a bear management tool......and money maker for guides.

With the demise of spring bear season and baiting, an important management tool would be lost.

[GreenGene]

I'm new to Maine, and although I'm registered to vote (one of the first things I did), I don't think I know enough about the baiting ban to vote on it. I've read what I can in the Kennebec Journal and online sources, and there's a lot of conflicting information ... or maybe that should read conflicting opinions.

I read somewhere - I believe it was KJ - that with the bear baiting that's been going on, the bear population has increased. So I went to the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife to do some research. I ended up more confused than before.

First it says:

Why are Maine Game Wardens and Biologists opposed to Question 1?
Maine Game Wardens and Biologists are opposed to this referendum because it will eliminate the most effective methods we have to control Maine’s large bear population.

Okay - that makes sense. But then it says:

Why is Maine’s bear population increasing?
Maine’s bear population is increasing in response to improved habitat that has increased both the abundance and the diversity of bear foods. Following the spruce budworm outbreak that reduced the amount of mature spruce/fir forest in Maine, there has been an increase in nut and berry crops. In addition, since 2005 Maine’s bear harvest has declined. Both improved habitat conditions and reduced hunter harvest have allowed Maine’s bear population to increase from 23,000 bears in 2000 to more than 30,000 bears in 2010.

This makes me wonder .... if the "most effective methods" of controlling the bear population have been in place at least since 2000, and the bear population grew anyway, is there some truth to the belief that using bait has helped grow the bear population more than the hunting with bait has controlled that population?

On the other hand, if all the various hunting/trapping/baiting techniques that have been used by hunters for years aren't really controlling the bear population, why would anyone want to take three of those methods away? Yeah, there's some question about how truly effective they are in controlling a population that grew by 7,000 in a 10-year span. But if those methods hadn't been available, would the bear population have grown by even more?

No, I don't feel like I know enough about this to vote on it. I'll leave this one blank, and that's something I hate to do.

[Northern Maine Land Man]

Vote No. If this thing passes the only tool we'll have left to control the bear population will be to bring back the bounty on bear.

[MadJack]

I won't tell anyone how to vote, but I will tell you this;
HSUS has made continuous attempts at this kind of thing in Maine over the past 20 years. Started with trying to BAN ALL TRAPPING, then took bits and pieces of Maine's trapping laws. When they lost at trying to ban trapping the crazy lady in charge of trying to ban trapping tossed herself off a ledge near Bar Harbor. [yeah she lost it!!!]

Ten years ago HSUS tried banning baiting, hounding and trapping bears. THEY LOST because they had to LIE to get any votes.
HSUS has enlisted a few Mainers (so called mainers for fair bear hunt) to try again. They claim hunters "dump garbage" to attract bears. It has always been illegal to dump trash/garbage in Maine. HSUS claims these methods are cruel, but these methods allow hunters the opportunity to choose a boar or dry sow instead of a sow with cub or a cub itself.
Bear trappers haven't used steel jawed traps in years but HSUS says they do in their campaign. Truth is trappers use a cable-snare with a stop so as to not cinch (continuously) tight around the bears leg, which only holds the bear. These are checked daily!

Mainers don't like billion dollar self serving companies from DC telling them how/what they can or can't do!
This referendum, if the ban passes, will be short lived as the State of Maine is seeking legislation so that Maine's wildlife is managed ONLY by BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES instead of political whims.

[massnative71]

What is their real argument FOR the ban?