I am writing this response to the Oct. 20 Maine Voices column written by Robert Fisk Jr. of Falmouth.
Mr. Fisk’s same old sensationalized rhetoric regarding his opinions on and scare tactics about bear hunting in Maine grows old.
In 2004, Maine voters defeated a referendum that would have eliminated bear hunting with traps, bait and dogs in Maine. Maine voters made the right decision.
However, Mr. Fisk continues his anti-hunting campaign by giving extreme examples to many of your readers who may not fully understand the impacts of bear hunting.
Black bears are very wary of human scent and the current methods of hunting in place today are the most effective in helping Maine manage a healthy bear population.
Mr. Fisk refers to a 20-year-old study that estimated that bear hunting generated $6.4 million on an annual basis. He seems to dismiss this as an insignificant amount of money for Maine’s struggling economy.
Please try telling this to the guides, families and other businesses who benefit from bear hunting dollars that are spent each year.
He also refers to Maine’s biologists in a negative manner. The number of bears harvested in the past four years was below 3,000. When fewer bears are harvested, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that the population will increase.
On a recent moose hunt, I was able to spend time with some of the biologists who work for the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, and I can tell you they are a dedicated group of individuals who obviously know and understand the animals they study.
Maybe Mr. Fisk should spend some time with them instead of bashing them in print – he may learn something.
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