An Act To Enhance the Wise Use and Sound Management of Maine's Wildlife Resources
Sec. 1. 12 MRSA §10657 is enacted to read:
§ 10657. Waste of game
Notwithstanding section 11109, subsection 3, paragraph N or section 11206, a person who has reason to believe that person has wounded a bear, deer or moose may employ a guide licensed under section 12853 to track and dispatch that animal outside of legal hunting hours.
Sec. 2. 12 MRSA §11151, sub-§1, 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:
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. 3. 12 MRSA §11151, sub-§4 is enacted to read:
summary
This bill prohibits a hunter or trapper from wasting a harvested or wounded game animal and removes the law that allows the holder of a big game license to take a bear during the regular open firearm season on deer without a bear hunting permit. It also provides that the revenue generated from the issuance of bear hunting permits in excess of the number issued in 2006 must be used to fund studies relating to the harvesting of black bears.