State Of Maine Warns: Don’t You Dare Hunt Deer Over Bait…Or Else

When the summer begins to wind down and fall kicks in, "hunting season" will be front and center here in the state of Maine. For locals, it's a rite of passage. It's also become a lucrative tourism industry as well. But what you may have missed during a busy legislative season, is that rules have changed when it comes to hunting deer. Specifically, if you choose to break the law by hunting over bait.

According to the Bangor Daily News, if a person is found hunting deer over bait during an open season, they will lose their hunting license for one calendar year. If that same hunter chooses to do it again, they will be banned from hunting in Maine for the rest of their life. Two strikes and you're out.

So is this even a problem in Maine? The answer is yes. Cases of hunters using bait for deer has steadily increased in the last few years, with the Maine Warden Service reporting over 100 cases per year. That pushed the hand of the legislature to enact a new law penalizing those who illegally hunt and jeopardize Maine's deer population.