In November, Maine will vote to prohibit “baiting” as a part of bear hunting. Bear baiting is banned in 18 of the 28 states that allow bear hunting.

Let me be very clear, I am not anti-hunting, anti-gun (I own a half-dozen guns), nor am I a tree-hugging bunny lover.

How about a little common sense? Headlines in the newspaper report increased bear sightings. If bears become accustomed to being fed with garbage, they’ll go where the food is, and people and populations are where the garbage is. Try dumping a bushel of apples on the edge of a field and see how long it takes to get a visit from a warden.

The difference is a couple of deer might eat your vegetable garden, but a bear can and will eat you.

By all means, hunt them in the woods but don’t lure them to backyards.

Peter Froehlich, Whitefield


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