BANGOR DAILY NEWS • May 15, 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: Who decided to exclude coyotes? What is the rationale for exempting what the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife refers to as a valuable and intelligent species from this wasteful practice? LD 814 will include coyotes under Maine’s Wanton Waste law. LD 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