Three wildlife issues to concern all Mainers

I carried a Maine Guide’s license for more than 30 years, and had the privilege of serving seven years on the advisory council to the commissioner of the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. There are three wildlife issues that concern me.

First, coyote snaring. To hang a wild animal by the neck until it is dead is both cruel and inhumane. This program should be eliminated; it only plays into the hands of the anti-hunting population. The snaring of coyotes has not accomplished its goal of increasing the whitetail deer herd in northern Maine. The money spent by the DIF&W on this program should be used to improve the deer wintering habitat in northern Maine. Loss of habitat, especially winter habitat, for whitetail deer is the main reason for the decline in the deer herd in northern Maine, not coyotes.

Second, moose-vehicle collisions. The accidents involving moose and vehicles are tragic, especially when loss of human life occurs. The problem is not a moose problem. It is a people problem. Speed and driver inattention are the real causes of these accidents. Drivers will not take their foot off the gas pedal and watch the sides of the road when they are in moose country, especially at night. Increasing moose permits and shooting more moose will not solve the problem.

Third, bear baiting. When I served on the DIF&W advisory council quite a few years ago. I received more letters and telephone calls about bear baiting than any other single wildlife issue. We don’t seem to have hunters anymore, only shooters.

Shooting a black bear from a stand over bait is not hunting. I am confident that our biologists will find a way to control the black bear population if we see fit to eliminate bear baiting in the future.

Ogden E. Small lives in Caribou.