The state’s powerful hunting lobby has been very busy introducing legislative documents this session. Supported by senators and representatives who are either members of the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine or rated highly by them, a veritable blitz of bills has been proposed, including the following changes in current law.
LD 399 would create a youth bear hunting day (sponsored by a legislator who owns a guide service that offers bear hunts). LD 291 would allow the use of slingshots in hunting small animals. LD 424 would authorize silencers on weapons to kill nuisance animals. LD 156 would lower the youth hunting age from 10 years of age to 8. LD 609 would provide an incentive to nonresident landowners who own more than 250 acres to keep that land open for hunting and LD 781 which would eliminate permits for turkey hunting.
The chances are very good that these bills will pass. Why? Because at least eight of the committee’s 12 voting members (including both chairs) are also SAM members, two sit on SAM’s executive board and one is a former DIFW commissioner.
The IFW committee represents the approximately 11 percent of the population who hunt and trap whereas everyone else gets virtually no representation at all.
Collusion in place of balanced representation undermines faith in government, and it also raises a simple, basic question that should be important to everyone ”“ whatever happened to democracy?
Betsy Clark, York
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