Practices don’t belong in Maine
To the editor:
We are voting “Yes” on Question 1 to ban the cruel and inhumane practices of trapping, baiting and hounding of bears. Question 1 will not ban hunting or the hunting of bears in Maine.
Maine is home to and hosts many of the most conscientious sportsmen and sportswomen in North America. I’m proud to live in Aroostook County with so many of these men and women. It is only fitting that we give these bears a fighting chance. The sport and skill are missing from baiting, trapping or hounding.
Picture a Maine sportsman in the woods — in that scene, there probably isn’t a bear tethered by a paw struggling to get free, or a bear surrounded by a pack of high-tech radio or GPS-collared dogs, and there probably aren’t heaps of rotting food in our North Woods.
These practices don’t belong in our woods and our bears don’t deserve to suffer from them, so we’re voting “Yes” on Question 1 to ban them.
Sharon Mahoney, Mapleton
Brenda Perkins, Presque Isle
