Bear bait debate heats up at forum

BREWER — The arguments weren’t new at a bear referendum forum Thursday night, but advocates for and against a ban on bear baiting, trapping and hunting with dogs are becoming increasingly passionate as Nov. 2 draws nearer.

Thursday’s event drew a small crowd to a monthly issues forum sponsored by the Forest Resource Association.

The room had a decidedly pro-baiting vibe – which comes as little surprise as most of Maine’s large forest landowners, many of whom rent bait sites to hunters and guides, came out en masse against the referendum last year.

Tenley Meara of Topsham, a volunteer for Maine’s Fish and Wildlife Conservation Council (a coalition primarily made up of hunting and fishing organizations formed to defeat the referendum), faced off against Robert Fisk of Falmouth, spokesman for Maine Citizens for Fair Bear Hunting, advocates for the ban.

This fall’s bear season – perhaps Maine’s last with bait – started Monday. Each fall, hunters shoot or trap nearly 4,000 of the state’s estimated 23,000 black bears, the vast majority of which are taken using the methods Fisk seeks to ban.

Proponents of the ban call the three hunting methods “cruel and unsportsmanlike,” while opponents argue that the practices are crucial to public safety and the rural economy.

During her speech, Meara told the crowd that the state’s bear population will, over a number of years, grow out of control if state biologists are deprived of these hunting methods as population control tools.

“Why would you try to fix a system that isn’t broken?” she asked.

Meara cited 58 instances of bears entering people’s homes in Pennsylvania and a 2002 incident in which a New York bear grabbed a baby from a stroller.

“This [ban] will affect every Maine resident or homeowner who must protect their property and family from bear attacks,” Meara said, describing Maine Citizens for Fair Bear Hunting as a front for animal extremist groups that seek to ban all hunting.

When he took his turn at the podium, Fisk responded in kind, calling his opponent’s position “emotional, fear-based arguments.” The former state legislator defended himself as a “Republican businessman” with no interest in banning all hunting.

“It’s called the slippery slope, and if I had $10 for every time the director of the Sportman’s Alliance of Maine [George Smith, who was in the audience Thursday] has used that term, I would be a wealthy man,” Fisk said.

“It’s a false argument that opponents cling to as a diversionary tactic because they cannot defend these [hunting] methods,” he said. “Mother Nature will straighten out any situation, given time.”

Meara also cited a forthcoming study commissioned by baiting defenders which estimates that the bear hunt contributes a staggering $60 million and 700 jobs to the state annually.

Previous estimates used until today have set the impact at $12 million.

One audience member asked Fisk how his group would suggest making up the lost revenue. He responded by suggesting that bear hunting guides shift their businesses to target the growing ecotourism market – wildlife watchers, wilderness campers and the like.

The comment drew open laughter from some audience members. As the evening waned, however, the questions became increasingly confrontational, and Fisk offered few answers that satisfied his audience.