KENNEBEC JOURNAL • June 4, 2023
Maine’s wanton waste law prohibits a person from intentionally leaving “a wild bird or wild animal that has been wounded or killed by that person while hunting.” The only hunted species this does not apply to is coyotes. Maine citizens should ask: What is the rationale for exempting what the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife refers to as a valuable and intelligent species from this wasteful practice? Allowing a valuable and intelligent species to be carelessly slaughtered and left anywhere is unjustifiable and creates a social and environmental problem. L.D. 814, An Act to Strengthen Maine’s Ethical Hunting Tradition, will include coyotes under Maine’s wanton waste law. L.D. 814 will also require the tagging and registration of coyotes that are killed — the same practice that applies to other hunted species. ~ Tammy Cloutier, Kennebunk