I spent the better part of the last 50 years in Jackman. My mother was born there in 1935. My grandfather was born there in 1893. When I was very young, bears were as common as any other wild animal. The trash dumps, the restaurant dumpsters were full of food, trash cans were allowed everywhere. Bears were a part of the town’s culture.
When I was 9, a moose attacked a car. When I was 18, a moose killed a person. When I was 26, a moose-car collision killed a young person from town. How many people have been killed in Maine by bears?
I realize this newspaper is pro-bear hunting. However hunting is no longer the issue. Trapping, baiting and hounding a living thing to death is the issue. If a person calls themselves a hunter, they cannot be proud of killing a bear when the bear is snared, treed, or eating lunch.
Ed Morris
Benton
Maine Bear Hunting Reform Narrowly Rejected by Voters
Mainers for Fair Bear Hunting expressed disappointment about the election results on Question 1, but thanked more than a quarter million Mainers who voted to end bear baiting, hounding, and trapping.
"We are grateful to so many Maine voters for supporting this proposed reform, and we look forward to working with them and with ‘no’ and non-voters to outlaw the practices of bear hounding and trapping, because we believe there’s substantial agreement on that issue."