After viewing Maine state animal biologists and game wardens on TV explaining why we should vote “no” on the bear hunting referendum, it occurs to me that the disconnect between hunters and those opposed to the current practices in bear baiting is all about semantics.
I understand the referendum opponents’ stance on the need to maintain a safe bear population. However, what we are voting on is not hunting at all. Coaxing slow-moving animals into a clear area for an unhindered shot is not hunting. Call it what it is: “wildlife management.”
I believe there is room for both. Continue the current practice of maintaining a safe bear population under controlled circumstances by professionals who will pay steep fees. Then allow the true hunting of bears by hunters who will have to trudge through the Maine woods without dogs and doughnuts, just like deer hunters.
This all-or-nothing choice will have consequences regardless of the outcome. I hope there will be consideration of alternatives the day after the election.
Steven Edmondson
Topsham
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