KENNEBEC JOURNAL • May 25, 2021
On May 3, the Legislature’s Committee on Inland Fisheries and Wildlife conducted a fake public hearing for L.D.1265, An Act To Control the Means of Hunting Coyotes. Dozens of citizens attended, most speaking in favor of the bill. An average of four of the 13 committee members were present for the hearing at any one time. Not surprisingly, the committee killed the bill — unanimously. It would have placed limits on killing coyotes by banning the use of dogs to run them down and rip them apart, banning night hunting of coyotes, and banning baiting coyotes. It would not have impacted so-called “fair chase” hunting of coyotes. Maine’s fish and wildlife statutes greatly favor killing over conservation. Maine’s democracy is a farce. The public’s wildlife and the public’s government belong to us all, not to a fringe special interest group or to a small group of do-nothings. ~ John Glowa, South China