Tucson, AZ -(AmmoLand.com)- On April 14th, sportsmen and women in Maine were triumphant against a Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) challenge to bear hunting.
Hunters prevailed when the Maine Supreme Judicial Court upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit filed by the anti-hunting group, Mainers for Fair Bear Hunting against the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (MDIFW).
Backed by HSUS, Mainers for Fair Bear Hunting sued the MDIFW shortly before the November 2014 election, in an attempt to prohibit MDIFW staff members from actively campaigning against a ballot measure seeking to ban the use of bait, dogs and traps to hunt bears. A Maine Superior Court dismissed the lawsuit as moot and the state Supreme Court has now unanimously affirmed that decision.
In 2014, HSUS and Mainers for Fair Bear Hunting also tried to put an end to Maine’s bear hunting season through a statewide ballot petition. However, Maine’s hunting community, and hunters throughout New England, did not stand by idly. SCI’s membership in Maine along with the U.S. Sportsmen’s Alliance, Sportsmen’s Alliance of Maine, the Maine Professional Guides Association and other partners aggressively fought and won the ballot campaign against HSUS and their anti-hunting cronies.
SCI will continue to stand behind Maine’s science-based bear management. Professional biologists need to continue to manage Maine’s bear population with the state’s nationally recognized bear management program.
Without bear hunting, baiting, and trapping, it would become much more difficult for Maine to manage its bear population at a level consistent with their public goals and objectives.
About Safari Club International:
Safari Club International – First For Hunters is the leader in protecting the freedom to hunt and in promoting wildlife conservation worldwide. SCI’s approximately 200 Chapters represent all 50 of the United States as well as 106 other countries. SCI’s proactive leadership in a host of cooperative wildlife conservation, outdoor education and humanitarian programs, with the SCI Foundation and other conservation groups, research institutions and government agencies, empowers sportsmen to be contributing community members and participants in sound wildlife management and conservation.
Visit the home page www.SafariClub.org, or call (520) 620-1220 for more information.