Ballot Measure Threatens Black Bear Archery Hunting in Maine

Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife-Black BearFrom the Archery Wire: Last week’s announcement that an anti bear-hunting question has qualified to appear on Maine’s general election ballot this November should serve to rally bowhunters and archery organizations to help protect what’s commonly considered the best bow-and-arrow black bear hunting in the Eastern U.S.

Maine Secretary of State Mathew Dunlap on March 5 certified more than 63,500 petition signatures, enough to qualify the ballot measure that will likely ask voters if they favor prohibiting hunting black bears over bait, with hounds or using traps.

Bear hunting over bait is the most common method used in Maine – especially by bowhunters – primarily because the state’s dense forests make it impractical to hunt bears using spot-and-stalk or other methods.

A similar ballot measure failed in Maine in 2004, but only by a slight margin. Read the rest of the article here at the Archery Wire……

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