An Act to Protect the Right to Harvest Wildlife
Maine Legislature, Session 132, LD 1343
Sponsors: HICKMAN, FAULKINGHAM
Amends: 12 MRSA §6001, 12 MRSA §10001, 12 MRSA §10050

Legislative Document
No. 1343
S.P. 559
In Senate, April 1, 2025
An Act to Protect the Right to Harvest Wildlife
Received by the Secretary of the Senate on March 28, 2025.  Referred to the Committee on 
Inland Fisheries and Wildlife pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed.
DAREK M. GRANT
Secretary of the Senate
Presented by Senator HICKMAN of Kennebec.
Cosponsored by Representative FAULKINGHAM of Winter Harbor and
Senators: BALDACCI of Penobscot, HARRINGTON of York, STEWART of Aroostook, 
Representatives: DILL of Old Town, FREDERICKS of Sanford, HASENFUS of Readfield, 
ROBERTS of South Berwick, WOOD of Greene.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  12 MRSA §6001, sub-§18-A is enacted to read:
18-A.  Harvest, the verb.  The verb "harvest" means:
A.  To gather, forage, catch, trap, hunt, fish, take or kill for human consumption, 
nourishment, sustenance, bodily health or well-being, as declared in the Constitution 
of Maine, Article I, Section 25; or
B.  To catch, trap, hunt, fish, take or kill for sport, wildlife management or population 
control.
Sec. 2.  12 MRSA §10001, sub-§29-A is enacted to read:
29-A.  Harvest, the verb.  The verb "harvest" means:
A.  To gather, forage, catch, trap, hunt, fish, take or kill for human consumption, 
nourishment, sustenance, bodily health or well-being, as declared in the Constitution 
of Maine, Article I, Section 25; or
B.  To catch, trap, hunt, fish, take or kill for sport, wildlife management or population 
control.
Sec. 3.  12 MRSA §10050 is enacted to read:
§10050.  Right to harvest wildlife
The Legislature recognizes that the harvesting of wildlife by hunting, fishing or 
trapping is a valued part of the cultural heritage of this State. The Legislature further 
recognizes that such activities perform an essential role in the State's economy and in 
funding the State's management programs for game and nongame species alike and that 
such activities have also come to perform an important and sometimes critical role in the 
biological management of certain natural communities within this State.
In recognition of this cultural heritage and the tradition of stewardship it embodies; in 
recognition of the important role that the harvesting of wildlife by hunting, fishing or 
trapping perform in this State's economy and in the preservation and management of the 
State's natural communities; and pursuant to the right to food as declared in the Constitution 
of Maine, Article I, Section 25, the Legislature declares that the people of this State have 
the right to harvest wildlife by hunting, fishing or trapping, subject to the applicable laws, 
rules and regulations authorized pursuant to this Title, which the department shall 
vigorously enforce.
SUMMARY
This bill defines the verb "harvest" for the marine resources laws and the inland 
fisheries and wildlife laws.  The bill provides that the people of this State have the right to 
harvest wildlife by hunting, fishing or trapping, subject to applicable laws, rules and 
regulations.