Friday, May 11, 2007
Maine has long been linked with the image of a bear -- creatures that can instill both awe and fear, depending on how far away you are standing. Long ago, bear-hunting and bear-trapping were integral parts of life for backwoods survival, providing meat and hides for a long winter.
Things, of course, have changed dramatically. Hunting is still a part of life for many sportsmen, who rightfully regard it as both a link to the past and an expression of contemporary lifestyle.
Hunting is also a part of Maine's economy, drawing sportsmen from around the country and the world to use lodges and guides throughout northern Maine.
There are people who oppose hunting as cruel or unnecessary, swayed by the visceral nature of an activity that ends successfully with the death of an animal. Hunting, however, is far more humane than the commercial meat industry. It has been around forever -- literally -- and hunters who practice it in a responsible, respectful manner deserve the right to do so.
Hunting is also necessary to control wildlife populations. Deer, for example, can quickly reproduce beyond the limits of their environment to support them, but hunting for sport is an acceptable way to maintain a balance.
Which brings the discussion to recreational bear trapping. Maine has the dubious distinction of being the only state in America that allows such trapping.
A proposed new law, under consideration as LD 1635, aims to end that -- as it should.
The Sportman's Alliance of Maine has consistently opposed any legislation that would infringe upon or eliminate bear trapping. Part of its argument is that trapping does not pose a threat to Maine's bear population. Yes, the group is correct -- the Maine Audubon Society says the state has about 23,000 bears and that the number has increased since 1990.
The argument against bear trapping, however, is not about the numbers but about the nature of trapping. There is no sense of a fair chase in catching and then harvesting an animal ensnared in a steel leg trap. It's an execution, not a hunt.
Last year, trapping accounted for just 130 of the 2,800 bears that were legally taken by sportsmen. Clearly, it does not play a role in the management of Maine's bear population.
Maine's legislators should finally recognize that we belong with the rest of the nation and prohibit recreational bear trapping.
Reader comments
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Let's compromise. WE'LL stop trapping and killing defenseless bears and YOU stop trapping and aborting your fetuses.
Oops....my bad.
Let's take up the feminist's cry! "if you're against bear trapping (abortion) then don't have one"
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