An Act To Ban the Use of Traps and Dogs in Bear Hunting
Maine Legislature, Session 122, LD 1319
Committee: Inland Fisheries and Wildlife
Sponsors: DUDLEY
Amends: 12 MRSA §10902, 12 MRSA §11151, 12 MRSA §11251, 12 MRSA §11302, 12 MRSA §11302-A, 12 MRSA §11303, 12 MRSA §11304, 12 MRSA §11351, 12 MRSA §12260-A, 12 MRSA §12404

Legislative Document 
No. 1319 
H.P.917 
House of Representatives, March 15, 2005 
An Act To Ban the Use of Traps and Dogs in Bear Hunting 
Reference to the Committee on Inland Fisheries and Wildlife suggested and ordered 
printed. 
Presented by Representative DUDLEY of Portland. 
Printed on recycled paper 
17/~1J7.~ 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 12 MRSA §10902, sub-§6, CjfE, as enacted by PL 2003, c. 
414, Pt. A, §2 and affected by c. 614, §9, is amended to read: 
E. 
Buying or selling bear, hunting ef' 
t;f'appiB~ bear after 
having killed one or exceeding the bag limit on bear, in 
violation of section 11217 or 11351; 
Sec.2. 12 MRSA §10902, sub-§10 is enacted to read: 
10. 
Mandatory hunting license revocation for practices 
regarding bear. 
The commissioner shall suspend a 
person's 
hunting license for at least 5 years if that person is convicted 
of: 
A. 
Hounding in violation of section 11302-Ai or 
B. 
Unlawful bear trapping in violation of section 12260-A. 
If a 
person is convicted of either of the violations in 
paragraphs A and B for a 2nd or subsequent time, the commissioner 
shall revoke that person's hunting license permanently. 
Sec. 3. 12 MRSA §11151, sub-§I, as affected by PL 2003, c. 
614, §9 and amended by c. 655, Pt. B, §118 and affected by §422, 
is further amended to read: 
1. 
Permit required. 
Except as otherwise authorized 
pursuant to this Part, a person may not hunt for bear without a 
valid permit from the first Monday preceding September 1st to t;he 
day 
pf'eeediB~ t;he epeB fif'eaf'HI seaseB eB deef' November 30th. 
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Each day a person violates this subsection that person commits a 
Class E crime for which a minimum fine of $50 and an amount equal 
to twice the applicable license fee must be imposed. 
Sec. 4. 12 MRSA §11251, as affected by PL 2003, c. 614, §9 
and amended by c. 655, Pte 
B, 
§155 and affected by §422, is 
further amended to read: 
§11251. Open and closed seasons 
1. 
Open season on bear; conunissioner's authority. 
subsection governs the open and closed seasons on bear. 
This 
A. 
There is an open season on hunting bear from the first 
Monday preceding September 1st to November 30th annually. 
The commissioner may, pursuant to section 10104, subsection 
Page l-LR0158(1) 
.. 
1, adopt rules prohibiting the use of bait to hunt black 
bear during any portion of the open bear hunting season. 
Rules 
adopted pursuant to this paragraph are routine 
technical 
rules 
as 
defined 
in Title 
5, 
chapter 
375, 
subchapter 2-A. 
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c. 
The commissioner may shorten the open seasaBS season on 
bear as established in pal?a'i}l?apRS paragraph A aBEl 8 in any 
part of the State as long as: 
(1) 
The demarcation of the areas with a 
shortened 
season follows recognizable physical boundaries such as 
rivers and railroad rights-of-way; and 
(2) 
The 
decision is made 
and published prior to 
February 1st of any year. 
D. 
The commissioner may terminate the open season on bear 
as established in pal?a'i}l?apRS paragraph A aBEl 8 at any time 
in any part of the State if, in the commissioner's opinion, 
an immediate emergency action is necessary due to adverse 
weather conditions or severe hunting al?-t:l?appiB'i} pressure. 
Sec. 5. 12 MRSA §11302, as affected by PL 2003, c. 614, §9 
and a.'1Iended by c. 
655, 
Pte 
B, 
§158 and affected by §422, is 
repealed. 
Sec. 6. 12 MRSA §11302-A is enacted to read: 
§11302-A. 
Unlawfully hunting or pursuing bear with dogs: hounding 
1. 
Prohibition. 
It is unlawful to use a dog or dogs to 
hunt or pursue bear, also known as hounding, except as provided 
in subsection 2. 
2. 
Exception. 
The use of a dog or dogs to hunt or pursue 
bear is lawful in the following circumstances: 
A. 
The dog or dogs are used by state or federal employees 
to pursue a specific offending animal when the employees or 
their designees are acting in their official capacity for 
purposes 
of 
protecting 
livestock, 
domestic 
animals, 
threatened 
or 
endangered 
wildlife, 
public 
or 
private 
property or public safety~ 
B. 
The dog or dogs are used by the department or pursuant 
to 
a 
permit granted by the department to an accredited 
university for scientific or research purposes. but in no 
event for the purpose of killing bear. 
3. 
Penalty. 
A person who violates this section is guilty 
of hounding. 
A. 
Hounding is a Class D crime for the first offense. 
B. 
Hounding is a Class C crime for a 2nd or subseguent 
offense. 
Sec. 7. 
MRSA §11303, sub-§2, as affected by PL 2003, c. 
614, §9 and repealed and replaced by c. 655, Pte B, §160 and 
affected by §422, is amended to read. 
2. 
Prohibition. 
A person may not within the area described 
in subsection 1: 
A. 
Hunt bear; or 
C. 
Molest or harass a 
beart-eF~ 
The commissioner, or the commissioner's agent, is exempt from 
this prohibition for the purpose of live-trapping nuisance bears. 
Sec. 8. 12 MRSA §11304, first <][, as enacted by PL 2003, c. 414, 
Pt. A, §2 and affected by c. 614, §9, is amended to read: 
A person may not, without the permission of the person 
conducting the hunt, kill or wound a bear that is treed or held 
at bay by another peFseB~s-ae~-eF-ae~s person. 
Sec. 9. 
MRSA §11351, sub-§I, as affected by PL 2003, c. 
614, §9 and amended by c. 655, Pt. B, §162 and affected by §422, 
is further amended to read: 
1. 
Hunting bear after having killed one. 
A person may not 
hunt eF ~Fap bear after that person has killed or registered one 
during any open season. 
Sec. 10. 12 MRS A §12260, as affected by PL 2003, c. 614, §9 
and amended by c. 655, Pt. B, §§222 to 224 and affected by §422, 
is repealed. 
Sec.H. 12 MRSA §12260-A is enacted to read: 
§12260-A. 
Unlawful trapping of bear 
1. 
Prohibition. 
It is unlawful to use or set a trap to 
hunt or capture bear, except as provided in subsection 2. 
2. 
Exception. 
The use of a trap to hunt or capture bear is 
lawful in the following circumstances, provided any use of a trap 
pursuant to this subsection is undertaken in the most humane 
manner practicable: 
A. 
The trap is used by state or federal employees, acting 
in their official capacity, to hunt or capture a specific 
offending animal 
for purposes of protecting livestock, 
domestic animals, threatened or endangered wildlife, public 
or private property or public safety; or 
B. 
The trap is used by the department or pursuant to a 
permit granted by the department to an accredited university 
for scientific or research purposes, but in no event for the 
purpose of killing bear. 
3. 
Penalty. 
A person who violates this section is guilty 
of unlawful bear trapping. 
A. 
Unlawful bear trapping is a Class D crime for the first 
offense. 
B. 
Unlawful bear trapping is a Class C crime for a 2nd or 
subsequent offense. 
Sec. 12. 12 MRSA §12404, sub·§I, 'lIe, as enacted by PL 2003, 
c. 414, Pt. A, §2 and affected by c. 614, §9, is amended to read: 
C. 
The commissioner may suspend the game laws relating to 
bears in such restricted localities and for such periods of 
time 
as 
the 
commissioner 
finds it advisable to relieve 
excessive damage being done by bears to sweet corn or other 
crops. 
Nothing in this paragraph is intended to limit or 
create an exception to sections l1302-A and l2260-A. 
Sec. 13. 12 MRSA §12404, sub-§I, 'lID, as enacted by PL 2003, 
c. 414, Pt. A, §2 and affected by c. 614, §9, is repealed. 
SUMMARY 
This bill prohibits the use of a dog to hunt or pursue bear 
and the use or setting of a trap to hunt or capture bear except 
under certain circumstances. 
The use of a dog or a trap is 
permitted for certain scientific purposes or if undertaken by 
state or federal employees to kill or capture a specific animal 
that 
threatens 
livestock, 
domestic 
animals, 
threatened 
or 
endangered wildlife, property or public safety.