property

Except as provided in sections 12402 and 12404, a person may lawfully kill, or cause to be killed, any wild animal or wild turkey, night or day, found in the act of attacking, worrying or wounding that person's domestic animals or domestic birds or destroying that person's property.__A person who kills a wild animal or wild turkey by authority of this section shall report the incident to the Maine Warden Service as provided in section 12402, subsections 3 and 4.

§12402. Damage to crops or orchards

1.__Permission to kill nuisance animals or wild turkeys.__ Except as provided in section 12404, the cultivator, owner, mortgagee or keeper of any orchard or growing crop, except all types of grasses, clover and grain fields, may take or kill wild animals or wild turkeys night or day when the wild animals or wild turkeys are located within the orchard or crop where substantial damage caused by the wild animal or wild turkey to the orchard or crop is occurring. For purposes of this section, corn is not considered grain.

2.__Employment of agents.__When a person wants to employ someone outside of that person's immediate family to take or kill wild animals or wild turkeys, that person shall contact a game warden.__If the warden is satisfied that substantial damage is occurring, the warden may arrange for a department agent to alleviate the damage; when an agent is not available, the warden may authorize a person who is knowledgeable and can perform the work in a reasonable, safe and proficient manner.__Permission to take or kill wild animals or wild turkeys may not be granted to a person whose license to hunt has been revoked or suspended, who is an habitual violator as defined in section 10605, subsection 1 or who has been convicted of night hunting within the past 5 years.

3.__Report to Maine Warden Service; dressing of carcass. The person by whom or under whose direction the wild animal or wild turkey is wounded, taken or killed under this section shall:

A.__Within 12 hours, report all the facts relative to the act to the Maine Warden Service, stating the time and place of the wounding, taking or killing; and

B.__In all cases of deer, bear, moose or wild turkey, immediately and properly dress the carcass or carcasses and care for the meat.