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SAM’s Testimony Against Bear Bills

by George Smith

            You have 389,455 reasons to reject these bills.  That is the number of Maine citizens who voted, just 24 weeks ago, to reject these very same proposals.  In 13 of Maine’s 16 counties, a strong majority of Maine voters said no:  no ban on bear trapping, no ban on hunting bears with hounds, no ban on bear baiting.  It was a fantastic victory.

            Our polls showed that the strongest issue that compelled these Mainers to vote no was their opinion that the scientists and wildlife experts at the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife should make these decisions. 

            Maine voters said they want the experts to manage and control wildlife populations in our state.  They said they appreciate the jobs generated by hunting and trapping.  And they affirmed the opinion of Governor John Baldacci who said, “We have the most experienced, qualified team of bear scientists anywhere in the country.  We can manage our own resources.  We don’t need groups coming in from outside the state telling us how.”

            We learned a lot from this campaign.  I have spoken and written about these lessons in many forums in the last 24 weeks.

            Most importantly, we learned that the professionals at the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife are well respected and credible on wildlife management issues.  This was their victory – and all of us should be proud of their effort to educate the public in a very trying and difficult set of circumstances.

            Their professionalism in the face of a withering attack of lies and distortions, ugly and threatening emails and phone calls, threatened lawsuits and weekly press conferences, is something I will never forget.

            I’m also very proud of the professional team we assembled, and the 15,000 donors and volunteers who drove this campaign to a great victory.  We raised $1.6 million – with 65 percent coming from right here in Maine – and I still wonder what we could have accomplished for conservation in Maine, if we were not forced to spend this money to defend our Maine hunting heritage.

            We all know that the Humane Society of the United States initiated and funded this attack on Maine hunting.  Ninety percent of our opponent’s war chest came from HSUS and the Fund for Animals.

            They were not good losers.  Wayne Pacelle, HSUS President, reported on his organization’s website, two days after his loss in Maine, “Yes, we lost this battle, but we will redouble our efforts to halt these outrageous practices and to reform the unholy alliance between the hunting lobby and the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.”

            He will have to add the voters of Maine to that unholy alliance.  Because they rejected his bad ideas, 24 weeks ago, and now you will have an opportunity to affirm the wisdom of their decision.