AUGUSTA – It soon will be against the law to abandon a wolf hybrid in Maine.

A bill signed into law by Gov. Angus King also requires permanent identification of wolf hybrids. A common means of identification is a tattoo on the animal’s gum line.

The bill was a compromise between hunting and conservation groups, which disagree on whether wolves should be reintroduced in Maine but agree they don’t want wolf hybrids running at large in the state’s wilds. It is legal to own a wolf hybrid in Maine.

The bill is seen as a way to ensure that if a wolf hybrid gets loose, it can be easily identified and will not be misidentified as a full-blooded wolf, Rep. Matthew Dunlap, House chairman of the Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Committee, said Monday.

Because wolves cannot readily be inoculated against rabies, the legislation also is designed to help public health authorities keep track of the animals, said Dunlap.

Under the new law, which will take effect 30 days after the close of the 2001 session, breeders of wolf hybrids will have to register with the Agriculture Department to make sure all of the animals’ offspring are also permanently identified before they are sold or given away.

Owners must also notify the state when ownership is transferred.

Wolves were eradicated from Maine more than a century ago by a bounty program, but evidence of stray wolves returning to the state has since been confirmed.

In 1993, an animal later determined to be a wolf was killed near Moosehead Lake. There have also been several other unsubstantiated wolf sightings in northern and eastern Maine.

In 1996, a male wolflike animal was trapped in Aurora. DNA tests showed the animal wasn’t a red wolf, a coyote or a domestic dog, but could not rule out the possibility it was a wolf-dog hybrid.

Sporting groups, including the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine, strongly oppose any effort to reintroduce wolves, while groups such as the Maine Wolf Coalition want the animal welcomed back to the state and the rest of the Northeast.